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Publications:
Climate
and Urban Water Providers in Arizona: An Analysis of Vulnerability Perceptions
and Climate Information
CLIMAS
Report Series, CL1-03
July 2003
Rebecca
H. Carter and Barbara J. Morehouse
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PDF File (CL1-03.pdf, 393K)
Among the many stressors affecting urban water supply and demand in the U.S. Southwest is climatic variability, particularly prolonged drought. At shorter time scales, weather events such as floods, high winds, unusually hot weather, and electrical storms may also affect water production and delivery systems. At the same time, climatic variability is but one of a number of factors affecting urban water management in the region. Research into the sensitivity and vulnerability of urban water systems in Arizona reveals that managers are more concerned about factors such as population growth projections, economic trends, and revenue flows. Reliance on groundwater resources in many cases obscures recognition of any direct impact of precipitation on water supply. Some systems rely on multiple water sources and/or interconnections with other providers to address the risk that they may at some point not be able to serve customers’ needs. In other cases, water providers, especially many who rely on fossil groundwater that receives little recharge, do not perceive any link between climate and risk to their water supply. Given the low level of perceived climate risk among many providers interviewed for this study, it would seem unlikely that climate information would be needed. However, pockets of sensitivity and vulnerability to climatic impacts do exist in the four study areas covered in this study. Findings indicate that efforts to provide climate information may best be directed toward these particular providers. Whether the strong perceptions of invulnerability held by water managers hold up under a severe sustained drought remains to be tested.
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Project Overview
1.2. Climate Assessment for the Southwest Project
1.3. Regional Climate Assessments
2. Background
3. Research Methods
3.1. Questionnaire
3.2. Personal Interviews
3.3 Confidentiality
4. The Research Context
4.1. Geographical Context
4.2. Water, Population Growth, and Climate in the Southwest
4.3. Policy and Political Context
5. Results
5.1 Most Disruptive Types of Weather and Climate
5.2 Size DOESN’T Matter
5.3 Population Growth
5.4 Water Sources, Delivery, and Distribution
5.5 Short-term Service vs. Long-term Sustainability
6. Implications
6.1 Low Concern About Climate-related Disruptions
6.2 High Provider Confidence in Their Systems
6.3 High Variability Among Water Systems and Locations
6.4 Current Use of and Interest in Climate Information
6.5 Strategies for Enhancing the Use of Climate Information
7. Conclusions
Endnotes
References
Appendix A: Survey
Appendix B: Interview Questions