Climate change is affecting us now, as we see an increase in warming and extreme temperatures, as well as an increase in the frequency of more intense precipitation and droughts. There are many potential indirect, long-term effects, including water availability, which are critical for many industrial processes. The US Geological Survey (USGS) has recently published studies of the potential impacts on specific major US water supplies (see http://journals.ametsoc.org/page/Watershed and http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1316 through 1329, 1347, 5077). As EH&S and Sustainability Managers, you are also resource managers, and it is critical that you understand future impacts on water availability so you can plan for the increasing challenges of having water critical for your processes.

It should be understood that forecasting water availability is not an exact science. Accurately predicting future temperatures, precipitation trends, and changes to the hydraulic and geographic features of water basins in detail is impossible, but projections of general trends of a changing climate are currently being extensively modeled. A decrease in water availability is a particular problem for a facility if water must be shared with other interests, such as municipalities (drinking water), agricultural and recreation.

The USGS reports predict possible water resource availability changes for 14 major water basins across the US. Using climate, hydrologic, and other models, the report projects how water supplies may be impacted.

For example, the USGS models project that temperature increases due to climate change will cause increased melting of snowpacks that feed several basins, causing annual peak stream flows to occur earlier in the spring and to lessen in the long term. The unique soil, hydrologic, and geologic conditions of each basin can affect availability. USGS projections are site specific. Maine is projected to have an increase in water flows, while basins in the South, already impacted by droughts, may become dryer. Therefore, facilities may need to modify their water storage and delivery schedules to meet availability.

Are your facility’s operations dependent on water? Perhaps large quantities of water? What can you and your company do about it? Assuming you do not have the resources to simply move a plant to a region projected to increase its water availability over time, it is important to have a water conservation program, to cut down usage. Not only is this a cost issue (as water shortages will lead to increased costs), but even a quality and perhaps an existential issue. With reduced amounts of water available, can your plant still produce the same quality and quantity product? Can you improve water efficiency? Therefore, it is important to begin to capture baseline information, such as quantities of water used in different aspects of your operations and to determine which areas use the most and how you can cut back or reuse wastewater in those operations.

CCES can help you assess your water quantity and quality issues to provide you with advice on how to cope with a projected long-term decline in water availability or cope with short-term drought impacts. WeatherMark, LLC (www.weathermarkpro.com) are experts in reconstructing past weather conditions, provide weather & climate records, and conduct analyses & write reports. Contact us now.