Here’s the release from WUCA:
The Water Utility Climate Alliance released a white paper today that outlines planning approaches to help water utilities adapt to climate change. Planning methods are necessary because many water utilities cannot afford to delay significant decisions and wait until the range of potential climate change impacts is substantially narrowed.
The report, Decision Support Planning Methods: Incorporating Climate Change Uncertainties into Water Planning (pdf) was produced to help water utilities consider and evaluate traditional and emerging planning techniques for use in their own climate adaptation efforts. Integrating climate change information into water utility planning is one of the most intricate aspects in the climate change adaptation process and this paper will help water utilities identify the method(s) most suitable for their planning needs.
“Climate change is shaking up our fundamental water planning assumptions,” said Chips Barry, manager of Denver Water. “Many agencies will need new planning techniques to address uncertainties associated with climate change. This white paper is a guide for those water utilities. We hope it will lead to a greater use and refinement of these methods,” said Barry.
The report found that there are few examples of applying these methods specifically to climate change planning. WUCA encourages collaboration on the development of water utility case studies that document the use and application of these methods.
For more information about WUCA, or to access a copy of “Decision Support Planning Methods: Incorporating Climate Change Uncertainties into Water Planning,” visit http://www.wucaonline.org.
Thanks to Denver Water (Stacy Chesney) for the link. Here’s their release.