Understanding the Effects of Climate Change on Urban Stormwater Infrastructures in the Las Vegas Valley

Abstract

Abstract:The intensification of the hydrological cycle due to climate change entails more frequent and intense rainfall. As a result, urban water systems will be disproportionately affected by the climate change, especially in such urban areas as Las Vegas, which concentrates its population, infrastructure, and economic activity. Proper design and management of stormwater facilities are needed to attenuate the severe effects of extreme rainfall events. The North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program is developing multiple high-resolution projected-climate data from different combinations of regional climate models and global climate models. The objective of this study was to evaluate existing stormwater facilities of a watershed within the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada by using a robust design method for the projected climate. The projected climate change was incorporated into the model at the 100 year return period with 6 h duration depths, using a statistical regionalization analysis method. Projection from different sets of climate model combinations varied substantially. Gridded reanalysis data were used to assess the performance of the climate models. An existing Hydrologic Engineering Center's Hydrological Modeling System (HEC-HMS) model was implemented using the projected change in standard design storm. Hydrological simulation using HEC-HMS showed exceedances of existing stormwater facilities that were designed under the assumption of stationarity design depth. Recognizing climate change and taking an immediate approach in assessing the city's vulnerability by using proper strategic planning would benefit the urban sector and improve the quality of life.

Water Quality Modeling of Mahabad Dam Watershed–Reservoir System under Climate Change Conditions, Using SWAT and System Dynamics

“…This situation could make lakes and reservoirs more vulnerable to eutrophication [1][2][3]. In recent years, climate change and its impacts on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of water have been the focus of several studies [4][5][6]. Various climate models and scenarios were used to investigate possible climate change impacts on hydrological variables [7,8].…”

Flood Risk Assessment Using the Updated FEMA Floodplain Standard in the Ellicott City, Maryland, United States

“…In addition to the river flood management, the Ellicott City needs an improvement in its existing stormwater system to handle the severe storms which devastate the city frequently. A method followed by Thakali et al (2016) that considers the impact of changing climate on the stormwater infrastructure might be useful in evaluating and designing the flood management infrastructure. Thakali et al, (2016) conducted a study over the stormwater system of Las Vegas area and found it to be inadequate to handle the catchment flow in the future climate.…”

Streamflow Forecasting Using Singular Value Decomposition and Support Vector Machine for the Upper Rio Grande River Basin

“…ECB 2016-25 provisioned qualitative analysis of historical climate trends, as well as assessment of future projections. As the impacts of climate change to the hydrologic characteristics of a basin are realized, streamflow forecasting can become difficult for hydrologists and climatologists as past hydrologic conditions are no longer representative of future conditions (Pathak et al 2016;Thakali et al 2016;Tamaddun et al 2017). It is important to understand the relationship between climate variability and the hydrologic response of a basin such that sustainable and efficient management of water-related systems can be implemented (Middelkoop et al 2001;Pahl-Wostl 2007;Kundzewicz et al 2008).…”