Water/Wastewater Utilities and Extreme Climate and Weather Events; Case Studies On Community Response, Lessons Learned, Adaptation, And Planning Needs For The Future

Extreme climate and weather events are occurring more frequently and with more
intensity across the nation. They often leave communities, and the water utilities that serve them,
reeling from costly aftermath. These extreme events have the potential to disrupt water services
including drinking water supply, wastewater conveyance and treatment, and stormwater
management.

In 2009 President Obama established a national task force charged with better preparing
the nation to manage the impacts of climate change. There is global recognition that the water
sector remains at the forefront of these impacts, yet water resources and services have
reverberating impacts on energy, development, and economic sectors. Utilities’ abilities to
successfully respond and adapt to increasing trends of extreme events is of the utmost
importance for resiliency in all sectors.

This report is intended to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing on how water resource managers
are coping with extreme events and building resiliency. Research was conducted at six local
workshops, organized to include participants that experienced different types of extreme events
throughout a river basin or watershed. The localities included:

- Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, Georgia
- Central Texas
- Lower Missouri River Basin, Kansas and Missouri
- National Capital Area
- Russian River Basin, California
- Tidewater Area, Virginia

Several common themes emerged from the workshops. They are summarized in Chapter
3.0 of this report and elaborated upon in each case study.