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Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group Update Jeff Cooley City of Vacaville

Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group Update Jeff Cooley City of Vacaville. ACWA 2010 Fall Conference & Exhibition December 2 nd , 2010. City of Vacaville Water Supply Overview. Vacaville’s Water Sources. 12 Deep Groundwater Wells-26% 2 Surface Water Sources

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Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group Update Jeff Cooley City of Vacaville

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  1. Climate Ready Water UtilitiesWorking Group UpdateJeff CooleyCity of Vacaville ACWA 2010 Fall Conference & Exhibition December 2nd, 2010

  2. City of Vacaville Water Supply Overview

  3. Vacaville’s Water Sources 12 Deep Groundwater Wells-26% 2 Surface Water Sources • Sacramento Delta Surface Water-35% • North Bay Aqueduct (NBA) • Jointly Owned North Bay Regional WTP with Fairfield • Lake Berryessa Surface Water-39% • Conveyed through Putah South Canal (PSC) • Solano Project Water

  4. Vacaville’s Water System

  5. Solano Project • Lake Berryessa reservoir built by Bureau of Reclamation in 1958 • Bureau provides water through contracts administered with Solano Co Water Agency (SCWA) and Solano Irrigation District (SID) • Lake can hold 1.6M acre-feet • Water diverted to Putah Creek which then travels via Putah South Canal to Solano County Water Purveyors

  6. Solano Project – cont’d • Surface water received from Lake Berryessa treated at City of Vacaville’s 12 MGD DE Water Treatment Plant and the Northbay Regional Water Treatment Plant • Total annual entitlements from Solano Project in 2009: SCWA – 5,750 acre-feet; SID – 3,000 acre-feet • Solano Project accounted for 35% of total water consumed by City in 2009

  7. State Project • Water comes from Barker Slough in the Delta and delivered by the Dept of Water Resources • State provides water through contracts administered with SCWA and Kern County Water Agency (KCWA) • Water diverted to North Bay Aqueduct which transports water to North Bay Regional Water Treatment Plant

  8. State Project – cont’d • Vacaville is one of 29 contractors receiving water from State Project • Total annual entitlements from State Project in 2009: SCWA – 6,100 acre-feet; KCWA – 2,900 acre-feet • State project provided 39% of City’s total water supply in 2009

  9. EPA’s Climate Change Efforts • National Drinking Water Advisory Council • Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group • CREAT Tool

  10. Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group • Charge 1- Define and develop a baseline understanding of how to use available information to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies. • Charge 2- Identify climate change-related tools, training, and products that address short-term and long-term needs of water and wastewater utility managers, decision makers and engineers. • Charge 3-Incorporate mechanisms to provide recognition or incentives that facilitate broad adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies by the water sector into Office of Water recognition and awards programs or new recognition programs

  11. CRWUWG Guiding Principles • Climate Ready is a process, not an outcome • Climate Change concerns hold the potential to provide leverage for addressing long standing water resource management deficiencies • Different local conditions will require different local responses • Recognize the need to explore regional, collaborative efforts.

  12. Climate Ready “Pivot Point” • When historical local climate conditions are increasingly less likely to be a good predictor of future experience • Extreme Weather events • Sea level rise • Shifting precipitation and runoff patterns • Temperature changes • Resulting changes in water quality and availibility.

  13. CRWG11 Findings • Finding 1- The water sector faces important and potentially substantial climate change adaptation challenges, but also opportunities • Finding 2- Proactive, climate ready actions will enhance water sector utility resilience • Finding 3- Different local conditions will dictate different climate ready responses • Finding 4- Utility “climate readiness” is an emerging concept that must therefore reflect an adaptive learning and management framework

  14. CRWG 11 Findings • Finding 5- An expanded concept of “water system infrastructure” is a key element of utility climate readiness • Finding 6- To succeed, individual utilities need a robust enabling environment • Finding 7- Many Utilities do not have the capacity to become climate ready • Finding 8- Climate change impacts create challenges for current “regulatory stationarity”

  15. CRWG 11 Findings • Finding 9- Water sector utilities are overwhelmed with climate change information and lack of coordination by federal and state agencies, and other water sector actors • Finding 10- The water sector is underserved by available climate change science and by information regarding adaptation and mitigation costs and benefits • Finding 11- Water sector utility GHG mitigation efforts are an important aspect of climate ready strategy.

  16. CRWG12 Recommendations • EPA should develop a well-coordinated program to articulate and support the adoption of climate ready activities by utilities • EPA should build out the concept of “climate ready” utilities based on the Findings and CRWU Adaptive Response Framework • Establish for utility staff a climate change continuing education and training program • Build on and strengthen advanced decision support models and tools to support utility climate change efforts

  17. CRWG12 Recommendations • Increase interdependent sector knowledge of water sector climate-related challenges and needs • Improve and better integrate watershed planning and management in response to climate uncertainty and impacts • Improve access to and dissemination of easy to understand and locally relevant climate information • Better integrate climate change information into existing utility technical assistance initiatives

  18. CRWG12 Recommendations • Develop and adaptive regulatory capacity in response to potential climate change alteration of underlying ecological conditions and systems • Develop a comprehensive water sector, climate change research strategy • Advocate for better coordination of federal agency climate change programs and services • EPA should take early action steps in close cooperation with applicable federal agencies, NGOs, and water sector associations

  19. CREAT Program • Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool • Funded by EPA • To assist drinking water and wastewater utility owners in understanding potential climate change threats • Assess related risks to their individual utilities

  20. CREAT Program • Resilience assessment • Considers unique assets, threats and consequences • 2 Pilots • EBMUD • New York City

  21. QUESTIONS

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