Addressing Climate Change In Local Water Agency Plans

This report describes an approach for planning under deep uncertainty, Robust Decision Making (RDM), and demonstrates its use by the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID). Using RDM, the authors and EID tested the robustness of current long-term water management plans and more robust alternatives across more than 50 futures reflecting different assumptions about future climate, urban growth, and the availability of important new supplies.

Describes the water management community¿s needs for climate change info. and tools to support long-term planning. Technical specialists and program managers have worked with their planners, water operators, and environmental compliance managers to identify the information and tools most relevant to their programs. They also have engaged and consulted with other Federal, State, and local agencies and stakeholder groups that have a role in water and water-related resource management to identify complementary priorities and individual perspectives. This report will help focus research and technology efforts to address info. and tools gaps relevant to the water management user community. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

The report identifies the needs of local, state, and federal water management agencies for climate change information and tools to support long-term planning.

Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate addresses the current challenges facing western water planners and policy makers in the United States and considers strategies for managing water resources and related risks in the future. Written by highly-regarded experts in the industry, the book offers a wealth of experience, and explains the physical, socioeconomic, and institutional context for western water resource management. The authors discuss the complexities of water policy, describe the framework for water policy and planning, and identify many of the issues surrounding the subject. A provocative examination of policy issues surrounding western water resources, this book: Considers the implications of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change for the region’s water resources, and explains limitations on the predictability of local-scale changes Stresses linkages between climate patterns and weather events, and related hydrologic impacts Describes the environmental consequences of historical water system development and the challenges that climate change poses for protection of aquatic ecosystems Examines coordination of drought management by local, state and national government agencies Includes insights on planning for climate change adaptation from case studies across the western United States Discusses the challenges and opportunities in water/energy/land system management, and its prospects for developing climate change response strategies Presents evidence of changes in water scarcity and flooding potential in the region and identifies a set of adaptation strategies to support the long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture and urban communities Draws upon Colorado’s experience in defining rights for surface and tributary groundwater use to explain potential conflicts and challenges in establishing fair and effective coordination of water rights for these resources Assesses the role of policy in driving flood losses Explores policy approaches for achieving equitable and environmentally responsible planning outcomes despite multiple sources of uncertainty Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate describes patterns of water availability, existing policy problems and the potential impacts of climate change in the western United States, and functions as a practical reference for the student or professional invested in water policy and management.

"The manual aims to help small and mid-sized utilities develop climate action plans to address adaptation and mitigation strategies countering the impact of climate change. The ultimate goal of the manual is to provide a starting point for utility managers, if climate change adaptation planning and developing climate action plans is the topic of their interest"--

This book attempts to bridge the gap between the climate change research and decision-making communities by exploring the impacts of climate change on groundwater from a more applied perspective. Global climate change will impact groundwater demands, quality, and available supplies, and rising sea level may cause water tables to rise, inundating low-lying coastal areas. Groundwater will increasingly be needed to perform a stabilization role in mitigating fluctuations in the supply of surface waters, serving as a buffer against droughts. Climate change has become a frequent subject in the mass media, and the academic literature on the subject is now enormous. An impediment to climate change adaptation with respect to water is a poor link between the climate change research community and the actual decision-makers responsible for water supply planning. Key issues explored are methods for evaluating potential impacts on climate change on local groundwater systems, the adaptation of decision-making process, and how climate change adaptation can be mainstreamed into the water supply planning.

Climate change is changing the context of spatial planning and shaping its priorities. It has strengthened its environmental dimension and has become a new rationale for coordinating actions and integrating different policy priorities. This book sets out the economic, social and environmental challenges that climate change raises for urban and regional planners and explores current and potential responses. These are set within the context of recent research and scholarly works on the role of spatial planning in combating climate change. Addressing both mitigation measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to the effects of climate change, the book provides an overview of emerging practice, with analysis of the drivers of policy change and practical implementation of measures. It scopes planning issues and opportunities at different spatial scales, drawing on both the UK and international experiences and highlighting the need to link global and local responses to shared risks and opportunities.

The impacts of changing climate are already evident in Canada and globally. Scientific understanding of climate change indicates that Canada will experience significant shifts in weather patterns over the period of a single generation, a trend that will likely continue for several centuries. Communities of all sizes will face many new risks and opportunities. Managing the impacts of a changing climate will require developing local strategies.