Adaptive Water Infrastructure Planning - Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities - page 75

Appendix A
Adaptive Water Infrastructure Planning
Approaches to adaptive infrastructure planning can be illustrated by the case of water
infrastructure.
Holistic Water Management
Holistic management of storm water, flood waters, water supply, and wastewater man-
agement is a theme that continues to be explored for climate change adaptation (No-
votny and Brown, 2007, Zoltay et al., 2010, Gleick, 2010, Daigger, 2009). For example
rainwater harvesting not only contributes to management of storm water but can also be
used for water supply. Storm water infiltrated into the ground also recharges ground-
water, which improves water supply and baseflows in rivers. More open floodplains
decrease flood damages as well as provide groundwater recharge, recreation, and the
elimination of some nonpoint source pollutants. Wetlands provide for ecological bene-
fits as well as filtering of water pollutants and flood mitigation. Wamsley (2010) found
through both data and modeling analysis that 4 to 60 km of wetlands in the coastal re-
gion of Louisiana can decrease surge elevation by one meter depending upon landscape
and storm characteristics. Reclaimed wastewater partially eliminates wastewater and
also provides water supply. Morsch and Bartlete (2011) report that some states have
presently have policies to encourage these strategies as part of their adaptation plans. It
is now the policy of California to integrate for water supply management the following
water sources: groundwater, surface water, recycled municipal water, flood flows, urban
runoff, imported water, and desalination. Demand management can also be mandated
by the state. Pennsylvania has policies to encourage the use of green infrastructure and
ecosystem-based approaches to manage storm water and flooding. Maryland is recom-
mending changes in building codes and retaining and expanding wetlands and beaches
to protect against coastal flooding as well as combining estimates of coastal erosion, sea
level rise, and storm surge to define critical areas to manage. The state is also planning
how to minimize impacts on coastal resource-based economies.
Improved Planning Tools and Approaches
Spurred on by climate change and the complexities of other challenges they are facing,
many water management organizations are encouraging the use of new approaches and
tools for planning. For example, Mearns et al. (2010) for the Water Utility Climate Al-
liance (WUCA) reviewed methods that may be useful for water utilities responding to
climate change impacts including Classic Decision Analysis, Traditional Scenario Plan-
ning, Robust Decision Making, Real Options, and Portfolio Planning. US EPA (2010)
have reviewed actual adaptation planning practices of eight water utilities including top