Water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and other effects of climate change, especially in low coastal regions such as south Florida. Alternative water and wastewater recovery programs that work now may not be applicable in 100 years. Florida Atlantic University evaluated options that the water utility in the coastal community of the city of Pompano Beach, Fla., could apply to improve resilience to climate change effects. Immediate issues were that groundwater level rise resulting from sea level rise would create significant challenges to the utility's plans for new wells, aquifer recharge, hydrodynamic barrier programs, and reclaimed water programs. A number of potential solutions lie beyond the utility's control, and regional solutions will be needed to resolve long‐term effects. A rethinking of long‐term water management should include adaptation programs that consist of vulnerability analysis, infrastructure assessment, short‐ and long‐term applicability of current practices when considering effects of climate change, development of a toolbox of potential technical and management solutions, and a planning framework for increasing resilience and sustainability using adaptive management to deal with uncertainties.
Changes in the nature of global precipitation, evaporation, snowpack, streamflow, and other factors will affect freshwater supply and quality. For example, the effects of sea level rise in low‐lying areas, such as Florida, are potentially significant and represent permanent problems that will require substantial investment to overcome. Additional water will be needed to retard saltwater intrusion, limit saltwater migration into surface water bodies, and secure water supplies. Water managers should evaluate how changes in climate will affect the hydrologic cycle in their areas and how to mitigate the effects to prevent freshwater crises in the future. Site‐specific strategies for improving water supplies may include water conservation, protecting existing water sources from saltwater intrusion, developing alternative water sources, and regionalization.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.