What the water industry is doing to adapt to climate change
Companies are now adapting their business and investment plans to minimise the effects of climate change.
Strategic measures
• Assessing the impacts of climate change on all areas of asset management and operation
• Using a common set of climate change scenarios via the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP02)
• Taking account of risk and uncertainty
• Managing regulator and customer expectations regarding levels of service
• Constructing robust asset models for future investment programming
Flooding
• Reviewing storm overflow storage and operations and sewer design standards
• Reviewing the need to move or replace assets impacted by flooding and coastal realignment
• Working to agree a common methodology for dealing with the impacts of more intense and frequent rainfall events on design standards for sewers and sewer capacity
• Working with others to promote catchment flood management plans and surface water management plans for all significant urban communities
• Reducing siltation of dams
Water quality
• Working with others to balance additional treatment and energy needs with new requirements to meet environmental and quality standards as a result of legislation, reduced dilution of wastewater effluent (particularly in low flow periods), flow and temperature changes
• Working with partners to control pollution at source and deliver multiple-benefit catchment solutions, for example sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) and catchment sensitive farming
• Negotiating and influencing discharge and consent standards to be more flexible
• Dealing with odour and discolouration issues for drinking water
Water resources
• Planning to build additional infrastructure, for example winter storage capacity to capture rainfall when it is available, for use when it is not
• Putting forward water recycling and re-use schemes
• Improving supply infrastructure – peak demand resilience
• Improving understanding of groundwater impacts – relocation or new abstractions
• Influencing demand through water efficiency
• Identifying the need for hydrologic barriers, desalination, alternative sources etc in the event of a rise in sea level
Other
• Building population, demographic and demand changes into future plans
• Understanding the impact of biosolids on agriculture
• Protecting health and safety of outdoor workers
• Moving emergency procedures to day-to-day business
• Implementing measures to manage increased risk of losing power and access to sites from storms
