The publication, produced by the United Nations Development Program highlights case studies that represent the types of projects funded through the Community Water Initiative that have helped foster water security in local communities while simultaneously helping them mitigate and adapt to climate change.
In January 2011, the National Drinking Water Advisory Council released its final version of its Climate Ready Water Utilities report, which contains 11 recommendations that will assist drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems across the nation to increase their resilience to climate change impacts. The report's findings and recommendations cover three topics: identify the behaviors that will characterize a climate ready utility; identify climate change-related tools, training, and products needed to enable climate ready utility behaviors; and explore ways to encourage
The purpose of this interagency report prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Bureau of Reclamation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to explore strategies to improve water management by tracking, anticipating, and responding to climate change. The terms of reference for the report are to consider the responses and adaptations of a responsible Federal body in the monitoring, management, and future design of the Nation’s water resources.
The National Resources Defense Council released a paper that identifies water supply response measures improve water quality and supplies, protect aquatic ecosystems, and improve flood management in order to help reduce future impacts related to climate change. Adaptation is not a solution to climate change, but given the importance of our water resources, immediate action is needed to avert significant societal impacts
U.S. EPA’s National Stormwater Calculator (SWC) is a desktop application that estimates the annual amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff from a specific site anywhere in the United States (including Puerto Rico). Estimates are based on local soil conditions, land cover, and historic rainfall records.
The NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management released Adapting to Climate Change: A Planning Guide for State Coastal Managers, which offers a framework for state coastal managers to follow as they develop and implement climate change adaptation plans in their own states. State coastal managers, and their counterparts in local governments, are at the forefront of adapting to climate change. This document is structured to help guide managers through the planning process from establishing the planning team to implementing the plan.
As part of the Preparing California for a Changing Climate project, the Public Policy Institute of California released Adapting California’s Water Management to Climate Change. Among the potential impacts of climate change, accelerated sea level rise and a reduced Sierra snowpack are the most certain. Both will pose significant challenges for water supply and flood management. Water utilities have already begun to plan for these changes, but flood control agencies are lagging behind and face greater regulatory constraints.
The Climate Ready Water Utilities Adaptation Strategies Guide for Water Utilities was prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an informational resource to assist drinking water and wastewater utility owners in understanding and addressing climate change risks. The goal is to provide drinking water and wastewater utilities with a basic understanding of how climate change can impact utility operations and missions and to provide examples of actions utilities can take to prepare for these impacts.
On July 9, Time magazine featured an article that examines a new study, featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which contradicts the prevailing scientific opinion on the frequency of major hurricanes. The consensus, however, appears to indicate that hurricanes will be stronger as a result of climate change and that the preparedness and resilience challenges are more significant.
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