5.06 - Climate Vulnerabilities and Adaptation of Urban Water Infrastructure Systems

Abstract

Urban water infrastructure systems – including water supply, stormwater management, and wastewater collection – are subject to climate and other factors that influence the water cycle. Those seeking to manage water infrastructure systems in cities begin by assessing vulnerabilities or critical features and developing mitigation and adaptation plans. Coverage of all vulnerabilities is beyond the scope of this chapter. Rather, for consistency with the theme of the volume, the focus is on vulnerabilities and adaptation of urban water infrastructure systems in the United States to climate variability and longer-term change. Urban water managers typically consider existing infrastructure characteristics when conducting climate vulnerability assessments and developing adaptation plans. However, urban water infrastructure systems may be different in the future. In addition, climate assessments and adaptation plans of urban water infrastructure systems generally focus on the water infrastructure systems in isolation even though important interconnections to other systems, such as energy, are critical for sustainability. Therefore, the goals of this chapter are not only to summarize climate vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies of current urban water infrastructure systems but also to identify climate vulnerabilities and adaptation potential of new green infrastructure and decentralization approaches and highlight the importance of the interdependency of urban water infrastructure and energy requirements in relation to climate.