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Water Sector Assessment Report Released
- Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security
- Contact: Wil Burns 510-251-1600
- Interior Deartment Contact: Noel Gerson 202-208-6444
- 15 December 2000
Today, the Pacific Institute and
the Department of the Interior released a new report titled Water:
The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the
Water Resources of the United States, prepared as part of the U.S.
Global Change Research Program's National Assessment of the Potential
Consequences of Climate Change.
The report, a two-year compilation of scientific studies by
representatives of the government, corporate and non-governmental
organization sectors to evaluate the implications of both existing climate
variability and future climate change on national water resources was
prepared under the leadership of the Pacific Institute. It concludes that
climate changes in this century may have serious implications for U.S.
water resources.
"This reports is another reminder that climate change is upon us,
and a wake up call that we need to begin long range planning efforts to
prepare for the eventuality of global warming," said Deputy Secretary
of the Interior David J. Hayes. "The good news is that the analysis
and findings in this report are the basis for beginning that planning
process now," Hayes added.
The buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over
the past century, primarily from fossil fuel combustion, has substantially
contributed to a temperature increase of about two-thirds of a degree
Celsius in the United States, with 1998 the warmest year on record. The
report concludes that this has already resulted in substantial thawing of
the permafrost in the Alaska Arctic and unprecedented melting of mountain
glaciers, an increase in sea level of between 10-20 centimeters, and an
alteration of water runoff patterns as a consequence of decreased snow
and ice cover and earlier melting.
Climate models project that temperatures could increase another 3-6
degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Warming of this magnitude
could seriously affect U.S. water resources. Among the impacts outlined
by the study are:
- Snowfall and snowmelt will be significantly affected in the Sierra
Nevada, Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest, leading to changes
in the timing and magnitude of runoff;
- Rising sea levels will threaten coastal aquifers and water supplies.
Vulnerable regions include Cape Cod, Long Island, the coastal aquifers
of the Carolinas, and the central coast of California;
- The risk of increased flooding may be as serious and widely
distributed as the adverse impacts of droughts;
- Changes associated with climate change, such as increases in lake
and stream temperatures, permafrost melting, and a reduction of water
clarity, could seriously threaten fish and water species and critical
habitats, such as wetlands.
Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute, and the lead
author of the study, emphasizes the need to focus on measures to
reduce the risks of climate change and to develop effective ways to
adapt to changes that are inevitable. "Sole reliance on traditional
management responses is a mistake," Gleick stated, "water managers
need to integrate possible climate change impacts into their planning
processes and to build flexibility into the system to maximize our
ability to respond to changing conditions." Gleick also emphasized
the importance of water conservation and efficiency programs, and
the need to look beyond traditional options for water supply options,
such as dams and reservoirs to potential alternative sources of supply,
including wastewater reclamation and reuse and desalination.
The report is available on the Web here or at
http://www.pacinst.org/naw.html
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