The Water Research Foundation has developed the Climate Change Clearinghouse Web site to provide a single source of all information related to climate change and water. The Web site offers the water community access to useful information on:
- Climate change science relevant to water utilities
- Impacts climate change can have on water resources
- Guidance on planning and adaptation strategies
- Water Research Foundation research relevant to climate change
 www.theclimatechangeclearinghouse.org
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Water Research Foundation has undertaken the Climate Change Strategic Initiative to establish a research program focused on impacts of climate change on water supplies. The Foundation will commit up to $1 million in funding per year for the initiative, which is expected to be substantially leveraged with partner co-funding and researcher in-kind contributions. The initiative will be sustained until the objectives outlined below are achieved; the target timeframe for the initiative is 5-7 years.
Climate change is expected to present profound challenges to the water industry in the future. In many cases, these challenges are already present. Water agencies in the United States and other countries have already begun to consider the possible impacts and plan responses to these impacts. They have also begun work on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions contributed by water management practices. As the water industry looks at these challenges, it also needs to look holistically at the critical interdependence and competitive forces and demands of various industry sectors. To plan effectively, it is important to understand the relationship between climate change and water quality and quantity issues, as well as the impacts of climate change at different points in the hydrologic cycle. It is also important to understand how utilities can effectively engage customers, regulators, and other stakeholders in these planning efforts to help ensure support for the water supply changes that climate change will necessitate.
Historically, Water Research Foundation has funded a significant number of projects that may be relevant to the impacts of climate change. With the establishment of the Climate Change Strategic Initiative, the Foundation will enhance its efforts to address climate change challenges by developing a sustained, multi-year, integrated research effort built around achieving specific long-term objectives.
Objectives
Each of the Foundation’s strategic initiatives is based on several specific objectives that represent problems to be solved or opportunities to be attained by the initiative. The following four objectives, which are summarized below, have been established for the Climate Change Strategic Initiative (CC SI). All projects funded under the CC SI will contribute to meeting one or more of these objectives.
Objective 1: Enhance and improve water industry awareness of climate change issues and impacts
There are well-recognized uncertainties regarding the magnitude of global climate change and its local-scale hydrologic effects. These uncertainties arise not only from our inability to foresee the future path of global emissions, but also from uncertainties in climate model representations of complex atmospheric process, changes in storm tracks, and other important processes. Thus, global warming serves to increase the level of uncertainty faced by decision makers who must, among other things, assess and secure water supplies and make critical capital investment decisions on planning horizons ranging from as little as ten to perhaps 100 years. When confronted with the prospect of such increased uncertainty, a utility manager may feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to evaluate the risks and assess options.
The water industry is increasingly aware of the need to use climate change information in its planning, but needs assistance processing the available data and knowledge being developed by the climate change research community. The CC SI will develop guidance that will help water utilities interpret, navigate and effectively utilize available climate change information. It will also help water utilities develop comprehensive, integrated planning strategies and actions to plan for, adapt to and manage the imperatives and challenges of climate change.
Objective 2: Provide water utilities with a set of tools to identify and assess their vulnerabilities, and develop effective adaptation strategies
Risk management tools, guidance, and illustrative applications are needed to help utilities better assess and manage their climate-related risks. For climate change, the potential sources of utility risk are diverse (e.g., severe droughts, floods, water quality challenges), the probabilities and consequences of adverse events are often highly uncertain and potentially severe, and any portion of the water utility may be at risk (e.g., from source to tap). It is critical that water utilities identify and prioritize the key threats, and begin to consider response and adaptation options that target the most significant risks.
Given the degree of uncertainty and high stakes risk-cost tradeoffs that climate change may impose on water utilities, a range of practical decision support tools are essential for helping water utilities manage these risks. The CC SI will develop flexible tools and approaches to help water utilities identify, assess, and prioritize climate risks (e.g., a climate-oriented vulnerability assessment process/tool), and develop effective adaptation strategies.
Objective 3: Provide water utilities with a set of tools to assess and minimize their carbon footprint
Water utilities are increasingly challenged to implement green and sustainable design principles and practices and account for GHGe in their operations. Currently, the water industry does not have adequate GHGe reduction strategies and may be at risk from changing obligations and higher abatement and mitigation costs. The CC SI will develop flexible tools and approaches to help utilities to assess and mitigate GHGe.
Objective 4: Communicate information to internal/external stakeholders
The issues of climate change and greenhouse gas emission continue to generate considerable controversy, with new and sometimes conflicting information released on a regular basis. In addition, m any water utilities are municipally owned and governed by elected or appointed officials who may have misconceptions about or be subjected to political pressure regarding climate change. This means that utilities must adapt to the true impacts of climate change in an environment where the level of climate change awareness, beliefs, and expectations may vary widely among customers and other stakeholders. As water utilities develop programs to address the resource, infrastructure, and financing challenges presented by climate change, they must communicate with and build support within their customer base and governing bodies. Effective and consistent customer/stakeholder communications are built upon an awareness of customer/stakeholder expectations, viewpoints, and levels of knowledge. The CC SI will provide guidance and tools for water utilities to successfully communicate the true impacts of climate change. Additionally, the initiative will coordinate its effort with public and private stakeholders to evaluate the research being done and develop a collaborative research agenda that complements ongoing and completed work.
Expert Panel
The expert panel is comprised of volunteers who provide direction and long-term stewardship for the strategic initiative.
Work Products
Water Industry Climate Change Research Needs Workshop (pdf, 2.49 mb)
As input to the expert panel in development of a Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Strategic Initiative, an expert workshop was held in Denver, Colorado, on January 8 and 9, 2008. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR). Fifty-seven participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia representing water utilities, private research institutes, academia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and consulting firms, as well as other industry professionals, convened to develop a comprehensive, multi-year research agenda spanning water, wastewater, and urban stormwater. This research agenda included understanding climate change impacts at a local level, developing approaches and tools for adapting to climate change, and developing approaches and tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions resulting from water management practices. The second goal of the workshop was to develop a set of detailed project descriptions to fulfill the research agenda. The workshop report provides primary input to the expert panel’s effort to develop strategic initiative objectives.
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