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USGCRP Global Climate Change Impacts in the U.S. - Water Resources
June 2009
This report is one of seven sector-specific chapters from the United States Global Change Research Program's comprehensive 2009 National Climate Assessment, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the U. S. " The 'Water Resources' chapter synthesizes current and projected impacts to the U. S. water cycle from climate change. Changes to the water cycle identified in the report include: changes in precipitation patterns and intensity, changes in the incidence of drought, widespread melting of snow and ice, increasing atmospheric water vapor, increasing evaporation, increasing water temperatures, reductions in lake and river ice, and changes in soil moisture and runoff.
Resource Category: Assessments
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Using Future Climate Projections to Support Water Resources Decision Making in California
May 2009
This paper presents advances in climate projection information that the California Department of Water Resources has made since their 2006 report, "Progress on Incorporating Climate Change into Management of California's Water Resources. " These advances include an improved understanding of how well selected climate models represent historical climate conditions and refined methodologies for representing stream flows, outdoor urban and agricultural water demands, and sea-level rise in planning tools, in order to assess their usefulness in decision making for water resource managers.
Resource Category: Data and tools
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Green Infrastructure for Los Angeles: Addressing Urban Runoff and Water Supply through Low Impact Development
April 17, 2009
This report was designed to help the City of Los Angeles use low impact development (LID) techniques to address water quality, flood control, and climate change issues. LID is a strategy for managing stormwater runoff that uses natural drainage features to capture and filter urban runoff. From an environmental standpoint, LID reduces water pollution, replenishes aquifers, and encourages water reuse. From an adaptation standpoint, LID reduces stress on water supply and can provide shade trees, helping to reduce urban heat islands.
Author or Affiliated User: Haan-Fawn Chau
Resource Category: Solutions
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Assessing Reservoir Operations Risk Under Climate Change
April 11, 2009
A collaborative effort of the Bureau of Reclamation, USGS, USACE, and the California Dept. of Water Resources, this paper presents a flexible methodology for conducting climate change risk assessments involving reservoir operations. The risk-based framework described in this paper provides a new context for climate change assessments. It is a flexible framework that advances methods for assessing scenario-impacts and/or characterizing uncertainties about projection scenarios or associated impacts.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Levi D. Brekke, Edwin P. Maurer, Jamie D. Anderson, Michael D. Dettinger, Edwin S. Townsley, Alan Harrison, Tom Pruitt
Resource Category: Assessments
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Implications of 21st Century Climate Change for the Hydrology of Washington State
2009
This report is part 1 of Chapter 3 of the Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment (see separate entry), focusing on water resource impacts for the state. Parts 2 and 3 of this chapter focus on the Puget Sound and the Yakima River Basin respectively. Based on results from 39 global simulations performed for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4) projections, this report presents downscaled model findings and the implications on the hydrology of the Pacific Northwest.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Marketa M Elsner, Lan Cuo, Nathalie Voisin, Jeffrey S Deems, Alan F Hamlet, Julie A Vano, Kristian EB Mickelson, Se-Yeun Lee, Dennis P. Lettenmaier
Resource Category: Assessments
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Climate Change Impacts on Water Management and Irrigated Agriculture in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA
2009
Utilizing a multi-model ensemble approach of downscaled climate model projections, hydrologic modeling, and water management models, this report presents results for changes in reservoir levels and snow pack in the Yakima River basin and resulting impacts to irrigated agriculture in the basin. The paper presents the analysis of hydrological conditions and how climate change is projected to impact water supply for water users with junior water rights and - in the extreme years - users with senior water rights throughout the basin.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Julie A. Vano, Michael Scott, Nathalie Voisin, Claudio O. Stockle, Alan F. Hamlet, Kristian E. B. Mickelson, Marketa McGuire Elsner, Dennis P. Lettenmaier
Resource Category: Assessments
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A Sustainable Path: Meeting Future Water and Energy Demands in the Arkansas River Basin - Executive Summary
2009
This Executive Summary outlines strategies for municipalities and the energy sector within the Arkansas River Basin to meet growing water use demands while conserving the Basin’s natural resources. The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River which traverses Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley, where the headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Collegiate Peaks.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Adapting California's Water Management to Climate Change
November 2008
This report outlines concerns for climate change impacts as they will effect California with possible sea level rise, shifting mountain runoff from Spring to Winter, changes in precipitation and runoff volume, drought, high stream and reservoir temperatures, increased water demands, and increased flood flows and frequencies. Options and costs for adaptations to climate change are outlined for water supply, flood management, hydro-power, and water quality. Institutional capacities and constraints to adaptation in water supply management, flood management, and water quality management are described and addressed with methods to improve adaptation capacities.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund
Resource Category: Solutions
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Climate Change Effects on Stream and River Biological Indicators: A Preliminary Analysis (Final Report)
March 2008
The Clean Water Act mandates that states assess the biological, chemical, and physical condition of their aquatic resources using biological indicators that compare reference and non-reference sites to measure condition. The Office of Water developed guidance documents for establishing biocriteria in rivers and streams, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands, and is developing biocriteria for coral reefs. Climate change is projected to affect aquatic ecosystems through changes in water temperature, hydrological cycles, and degree days.
Resource Category: Monitoring and Reporting
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Stationarity is Dead: Whither Water Management?
February 1, 2008
Published in the journal 'Science,' this article argues that the current concept of stationarity - the idea that natural systems fluctuate within an unchanging envelope of variability - is made obsolete in water management practices by anthropogenic climate change. The article recommends that the analytic strategies used for planning future investments be updated.
Authors or Affiliated Users: P. C. D. Milly, Julio Betancourt, Malin Falkenmark, Robert M. Hirsch, Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Ronald J. Stouffer
Resource Category: Planning
