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Looking ahead, Denver Water prepares for climate change

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 30, 2008 at 7:43 am

From the Summit Daily News (Colorado):

Although this cold and snowy winter has spelled good short-term news for Dillon Reservoir and the rest of Denver Water’s supply, global warming is keeping the Front Range utility modest. Climate change is real, and it’s here, so Denver Water recently tried to determine how increasing temperatures would affect stream flows and water supplies, said Marc Waage, manager of water resource planning.

Waage said Denver Water considered two different scenarios:

• With a temperature increase of two degrees over a 50-year stretch — assuming no change in precipitation — streamflows and water supplies would decrease by 7 percent.

• The second scenario plugged a 5 degree temperature increase into the model. Streamflows would drop by 19 percent, with a 14 percent impact to Denver Water’s supply.

Both temperature scenarios are “modest” compared to what many climate change models are predicting, he added. Most of the decrease in stream flows and supplies is due to increased evaporation and sublimation. The bottom line is that Denver Water’s system is very sensitive to warming temperatures, Waage said.

Read more of this article from the Summit Daily News by clicking here.

March 30, 2008 · Filed Under Climate change & water supply

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