Adapting to extreme events: small drinking water system manager perspectives on the 2012–2016 California Drought

Abstract

Under a changing climate, droughts are projected to increase in frequency and duration in the Southwestern USA. Between 2012 and 2016, California experienced one of the region’s worst droughts, with record high temperatures and low snowpack, runoff, and precipitation. This study documents small drinking water system managers’ experiences during the 2012–2016 Drought. We contribute to research on water system drought resilience by elevating small drinking water system manager perspectives and expertise. We are especially focused on small systems that are not reliant on imports from state or federal water projects. A mixed-method approach ensures each data collection period informs the next to gather statewide perspectives and experiences of managers.Based on an analysis of drinking water manager reflections, the types of impacts, responses, and barriers differed based on both system size and water source portfolio. Common disadvantages that hinder small drinking water systems’ drought resilience and, similarly, climate adaptation include staff and administrative capacity; the financial burden of promoting water conservation over revenue compounded by onerous reporting and funding support programs; consumer awareness challenges; and challenges to consolidation from both local political differences and physical limitations. Systems that built technical, managerial, or financial capacity prior to the Drought were at an advantage over systems that lacked this capacity. In the long term, we found a dearth of adaptation planning among small water systems. Documentation of experiences from the 2012–2016 Drought can inform future planning for droughts and more broadly highlight needs for climate adaptation.

Understanding perceived climate risks to household water supply and their implications for adaptation: evidence from California

“…While we consider how to best support local water managers to adapt, it is also essential to increase our understanding of the factors influencing resident's support for these efforts and to support local managers to leverage this knowledge in their communications. After all, a stymied proactive manager is likely no more effective than an incautious one (Klasic et al 2022).…”

“…Without power, drinking water and wastewater providers cannot pump, treat, or distribute water, and some households may be unable to boil untreated tap water or use their groundwater well. With warmer droughts, harmful algal blooms can pose expensive water treatment challenges to providers (Klasic et al 2022). Extreme heat days drive demand at the same time that systems are often asking their customers to conserve, and many households in certain parts of the state rely on evaporative cooling systems like swamp coolers.…”

“…The outsized challenges facing California necessitate rapid adaptation (Stewart et al 2020), and lessons may be drawn from the California context for other US states and global nations facing similar needs to adapt to climate change in coming years. While climate change awareness is relatively high among California water managers (Ekstrom et al 2017) and residents alike (Baldassare et al 2021), proactive adaptive action has lagged (Ekstrom et al 2017), particularly among small systems (Klasic et al 2022). Among the latter group, Klasic et al (2022) find that 82% of system operators reported that their adaptation efforts are limited by other watershed stakeholders' failure to acknowledge climate change or the importance of long-term planning.…”

“…While climate change awareness is relatively high among California water managers (Ekstrom et al 2017) and residents alike (Baldassare et al 2021), proactive adaptive action has lagged (Ekstrom et al 2017), particularly among small systems (Klasic et al 2022). Among the latter group, Klasic et al (2022) find that 82% of system operators reported that their adaptation efforts are limited by other watershed stakeholders' failure to acknowledge climate change or the importance of long-term planning. Examples from around the state clearly illustrate this critical link between individual perceptions of climate water security and system level adaptation.…”

The inequitable exposure of socially vulnerable groups to water shortages across the United States

“…Rural households and, in particular, mobile homes disproportionately rely on unregulated, private wells, leaving them vulnerable to groundwater depletion during drought [38,80]. Rural drinking water providers with small customer bases often lack the financial capacity to access alternative water sources [81]. Where rural economies rely on waterintensive agriculture, community members with limited financial resources and education may be less able to adapt to changes in income and employment should water shortages erode agricultural production [82].…”