Download Climate Change Uncertainties Will Create Unprecedented Challenges

Fact Sheet
CLIMATE CHANGE
Impacts on Water Utilities
Climate Change Uncertainties Will Create
Unprecedented Challenges
Quick Facts
• Climate change models predict an overall warming of the earth, increased evaporation and precipitation, rising sea levels, and increasing extreme events
• Climate change will impact water quantity, water quality, operational reliability,
and create financial and institutional challenges
• Water utility operators will have to develop new treatment options and technologies to meet water quality standards, and unique approaches to meet
the demand
Overview
Water utilities are rising to the challenge, developing
Current scientific evidence suggests that climate change
response strategies, forming coalitions, and raising
is occurring and will continue into the foreseeable future.
awareness among policy makers and government offi-
Impacts can already be observed in changes to the qual-
cials. There is a growing consensus in the United States
ity and quantity of drinking water sources. Models predict
to take action on climate change. Federal, state, and local
an overall warming of the earth. Warmer temperatures are
governments are responding with legislation to increase
predicted to decrease dissolved oxygen levels, increase
funding for climate change research and solutions.
contamination load to water bodies, reduce stream
and river flows, change timing of runoff, foster algal
blooms, and increase the likelihood of saltwater intrusion
along coasts.
Climate Change Processes
Controversy persists over the contribution of human
activities to climate change. However, what is not
waterrf.org
Temperature Anomalies (ºC) as compared to long-term average 1901-2000
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Year
Source: NOAA 2016b
Figure 1. Global land and ocean temperature anomalies
35
30
250
Number of Events
Number of Events CPI-adjusted
Cost in Billions of Dollars
Cost in Billions of Dollars CPI-adjusted
200
150
20
15
100
10
50
5
0
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Year
Source: NOAA 2016a
Figure 2. Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the United States, 1980-2016
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Climate Change
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Impacts on Water Utilities
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Cost in Billions of Dollars
Number of Events
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controversial is the basic science behind the greenhouse
effect, with data showing a sharp climatologic shift in
recent decades. At the most fundamental level, the four
main climate change processes can be summarized
as follows.
Increasing Temperature
Over the past century, the global average temperature
has increased 1.3°F (0.7°C) (Figure 1). One of the most
As a result of climate change, many
utilities may find themselves facing new
water quality and quantity challenges
relating to storage, sedimentation,
nutrients, and pathogens.
undisputed climate change predictions is that average
temperatures will continue to rise. Estimates of the magnitude of this warming vary widely. However, 11 of the 12
Patterns of precipitation change are anticipated to be
warmest years in 150 years of global surface temperature
highly complex and variable; some regions will have more
record-keeping have occurred since 1995.
precipitation than currently, and others will have less.
Increasing Evaporation and Precipitation
Rising Sea Level
Another highly certain climate change prediction is that
The ocean has been absorbing more than 80% of the
warmer temperatures will cause water to evaporate more
heat added to the climate system. Warmer tempera-
rapidly, increasing total precipitation on a global scale.
tures will contribute to sea level rise, both through
Climate Change Effects
Possible Impacts On Water Utilities:
Increase in atmospheric temperature
Reduction in water availability in basins fed by glaciers that are
shrinking, as observed in some cities along the Andes in South
America
Increase in surface water temperature
• Reductions in dissolved oxygen content, mixing patterns, and
self-purification capacity
• Increase in algal blooms
Sea level rise
Salination of coastal aquifers
Shifts in precipitation patterns
Changes in water availability due to changes in precipitation
and other related phenomena (e.g., groundwater recharge,
evapotranspiration)
Increase in interannual precipitation
Increases the difficulty of flood control and reservoir utilization
variability
during the flooding season
Increased evapotranspiration
• Water availability reduction
• Salinization of water resources
• Lower groundwater levels
More frequent and extreme weather events
• Floods affect water quality and water infrastructure integrity
• Floods also increase fluvial erosion, which introduces different
kinds of pollutants to water resources
• Droughts affect water availability and water quality
Source: Bates et al. 2008
Climate Change
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Impacts on Water Utilities
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References
melting of polar ice, and expansion of water volume due
to ocean warming. Estimates of sea level rise over the
Bates, B., Z. W. Kundzewicz, S. Wu, and J. Palutikof, eds.
coming century range from 0.6 to 1.9 ft. (0.2 to 0.6 m)
2008. Climate Change and Water: IPCC Technical
(Solomon et al. 2007)
Paper VI. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC Secretariat.
Accessed July 10, 2013. https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/
Increasing Extreme Events
Research suggests that climate change processes inten-
technical-papers/climate-change-water-en.pdf.
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
sify the hydrologic cycle, leading to more frequent and
Administration) National Centers for Environmental
intense climatological events like floods, droughts, and
information. 2016a. “Billion-Dollar Weather and
heat waves. Since 1980, the United States has experi-
Climate Disasters: Table of Events.” Accessed August 3,
enced 133 weather/climate disasters with losses exceed-
2016. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events.
ing $1 billion, for a total exceeding $875 billion (Figure 2).
———. 2016b. “Climate at a Glance: Global Time Series.”
Accessed July 26, 2016. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
Extreme events increase the risks of flooding, drought,
erosion, turbidity, debris in reservoirs, nutrient- and pollu-
cag/.
Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis,
tion-loading, and wildfire. Surface runoff and groundwater
K. B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H. L. Miller, eds. 2007.
recharge rates will also be impacted, with the severity
Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth
ranging geographically from humid to semi-arid regions.
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK and New York:
Water Utility Impacts
Cambridge University Press. http://www.ipcc.ch/
publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/contents.html.
While the impacts of climate change will vary widely
by region, it is relatively certain that no area will be
untouched. Potential climate change impacts on water
utilities have been widely reported by the Water Research
Foundation and many other organizations.
Ultimately, utilities, like other enterprises, will be increasingly pressured (and perhaps required through regulation) to be as carbon-neutral as possible. Utilities may be
expected to minimize energy consumption, turn to renewable energy sources, and optimize fleet efficiency.
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Climate Change
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Impacts on Water Utilities
Last updated October 2016