Environment News Service: More intense storms will threaten water infrastructure and increase polluted stormwater runoff as climate change impacts water resources across the Warming water temperatures are likely change contaminant concentrations in water and alter the uses of aquatic systems, the EPA strategy document projects. The document adds that new patterns of rainfall and snowfall are expected to alter water supply for drinking and other uses and lead to changes in pollution levels in aquatic systems.
Heavier precipitation in tropical and inland storms will increase the risks of flooding, expand floodplains, increase the variability of streamflows (i.e., higher high flows and lower low flows), increase the velocity of water during high flow periods and increase erosion," according to the strategy document.
"These changes will have adverse effects on water quality and aquatic system health. For example, increases in intense rainfall result in more nutrients, pathogens, and toxins being washed into waterbodies," the document states.
As a result, the strategy advises, water managers will need to expand efforts to plan for and respond to extreme weather events resulting from climate change, including storms, an excess of water, and a lack of water.
"Water is key to clean energy and climate change," said Benjamin Grumbles, EPA's assistant administrator for water. "Our water and climate strategy charts a course for timely and practical action, connecting the dots, drops, and watts for coordinated, sustainable results."
…To view the 119-page "National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change," visit: http://www.epa.gov/water/climatechange/docs/strategyFINAL9.30.08.pdf
A storm drain, shot by Robert Lawton, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License
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