Managing Climate Risk in Water Supply Systems

Water resources systems provide multiple services and, if managed properly, can contribute significantly to social well-being and economic growth. However, extreme or unexpected hydroclimatic conditions, such as droughts and floods, can adversely affect or even completely interrupt these services.  This manual seeks to provide knowledge, resources and techniques for water resources professionals to manage the risks and opportunities arising from hydroclimatic variability and change.

Managing Climate Risk in Water Supply Systems provides materials and tools designed to empower technical professionals to better understand the key issues in water supply systems. These materials are part of a suite of resources that are developed to share climate risk knowledge related to a range of sectors and climate-related problems.

The text motivates students by providing practical exercises and it stimulates readers or workshop participants to consider options and analyses that highlight opportunities for better management in the water systems in which they are stakeholders.

Managing Climate Risk in Water Supply Systems provides a hands-on approach to learning key concepts in hydrology and climate science as they relate to climate risk management in water supply systems. 

The primary audience is technical professionals in water resources management and provides a practical approach to training.

The PDF version of this title has been made Open Access in partnership with Knowledge Unlatched (KU), a library crowd-funding initiative. Find out more here.

Introduction; Water resources analysis and management; Climate variability and hydrologic predictability; Climate predictability and forecasts; Climate risk management in the water sector; Techniques for using climate information in planning and operations; Appendices: Planning and decision making; Assessing water demand