Washington’s water resources are already under pressure from climate change impacts. These impacts will continue to affect the ability of water systems to deliver safe and reliable drinking water into the future. Warmer temperatures and more frequent heat waves will increase demand, while declining snowpack and lower spring and summer flows will reduce surface water supplies. Both changes could affect groundwater recharge and supply. Climate-related natural hazards, such as wildfires, droughts and floods can damage infrastructure and compromise water quality.

Many water systems already consider historical or current climate and weather in planning and operations, but often operate with the assumption that the climate of the past will be the climate of the future. A warmer climate with more frequent and severe climate-related natural hazards may challenge water systems’ existing operations. In addition, smaller water systems are likely to be more vulnerable and have less access to the resources required for long-term climate resilience.
Many water systems already consider historical or current climate and weather in planning and operations, but often operate with the assumption that the climate of the past will be the climate of the future. A warmer climate with more frequent and severe climate-related natural hazards may challenge water systems’ existing operations. In addition, smaller water systems are likely to be more vulnerable and have less access to the resources required for long-term climate resilience.

Many water systems already consider historical or current climate and weather in planning and operations, but often operate with the assumption that the climate of the past will be the climate of the future. A warmer climate with more frequent and severe climate-related natural hazards may challenge water systems’ existing operations. In addition, smaller water systems are likely to be more vulnerable and have less access to the resources required for long-term climate resilience. This project aims to identify how climate resilience can be better integrated into water system planning in Washington state, as well as provide technical assistance for water systems seeking to increase climate resilience of their drinking water operations.

This multi-phase project aimed to understand how drinking water systems in Washington and the Northwest are experiencing climate-related challenges, and the extent to which they are considering climate risks in their operations and plans.

The first phase of this project examined the degree to which climate risks and resilience are considered in water system planning in Washington.

A second project phase expanded this work to include the Northwest region — Washington, Oregon, and Idaho — to understand how small drinking water systems (serving approximately 500-3,300 people) are experiencing climate change and natural hazards impacts today, what adaptation actions they are planning or implementing, and what technical, financial, and managerial needs they have to address current and future water challenges.

This project phase aims to identify how climate resilience can be better integrated into water system planning in Washington state, as well as provide technical assistance for water systems seeking to increase climate resilience of their drinking water operations.

We conducted a systematic review of publicly available water system plans to identify the extent to which water systems in Washington are currently considering climate change, drought, and extreme weather in system planning and how these efforts might vary by system size and location. We developed a report that synthesized this review and provided recommendations for how small water systems may incorporate climate resilience into their planning. In addition, we partnered with the Washington Department of Health Office of Drinking Water to host a three-hour virtual workshop to introduce small and medium sized water systems to climate resilience planning.

This phase of the research project aimed to better understand the impacts of climate change and natural hazards that small drinking water systems (serving approximately 500-3,300 people) in the Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The project comprises a series of three research report documents. The first report — Resilience on Tap — presents a detailed assessment of climate risks and system vulnerabilities, organized across key operational areas, and offers a framework for understanding how and why small systems are more susceptible to climate-driven impacts and outlines potential strategies to build resilience.

The second report — Understanding Climate Resilience in Small Community Water Systems in the Northwest — provides key findings and insights on the climate risks and resilience actions of small drinking water systems in the Northwest. Data was gathered from an online survey and interviews with system managers, technical service providers, state regulatory agencies, and consultants.

The third report — Climate Resilience Planning 101 — provides a workbook template The worksheets provided in this document are designed to introduce water system managers, planners, operators, and water system engineers to key concepts of climate resilience planning.