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Awwa Research Foundation (AwwaRF) has undertaken the Climate Change Strategic Initiative to establish a research program focused on impacts of climate change on water supplies. AwwaRF 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, AwwaRF 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, AwwaRF 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 objectives for the Climate Change Strategic Initiative are currently being developed by the expert panel. Information on the objectives will be posted here when it becomes available.
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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