A PPLIED S CIENCE F RAMEWORK : U TILITIES A DAPTATION P LANNING EPAs - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Jul 08, 2023 110 likes •241 views

C OASTAL U TILITIES R ESPONSE TO S ALTWATER I NTRUSION Kathryn Frank and Treavor Boyer With Pedro Palomino, Kathleen Kirsch, and Christina Casler UF Research Opportunity Seed Fund University of Florida, Gainesville S ALTWATER I NTRUSION H

SLIDE 1

COASTAL UTILITIES’ RESPONSE TO SALTWATER INTRUSION

Kathryn Frank and Treavor Boyer With Pedro Palomino, Kathleen Kirsch, and Christina Casler UF Research Opportunity Seed Fund University of Florida, Gainesville

SLIDE 2

SALTWATER INTRUSION HEALTH CONCERN

Saltwater Intrusion Salt ions: Bromide Public Water Supply Disinfection Process Chlorine Disinfection Byproducts Regulated Carcinogenic Compounds Long-term Coastal Groundwater Stressors Urbanization Agriculture Climate Change Sea Level Rise

SLIDE 3

APPLIED SCIENCE FRAMEWORK: UTILITIES ADAPTATION PLANNING

 EPA’s Climate Ready

Water Utilities

 Adaptation Strategies

Guide

 Climate Resilience

Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT)

 Florida Water and

Climate Alliance

 UF Water Institute

SLIDE 4

FLORIDA COASTAL UTILITIES SURVEY

Objective: Understand utility mindset

towards saltwater intrusion

 Water supply, management and

planning,

 Concerns and strategies

Method: Online survey (TREEO)

 Summer 2013, Winter 2013

Applied science adaptive framework

SLIDE 5

SURVEY RESULTS

SLIDE 6

UTILITY RESPONDENTS

 13 analyzed responses  10 counties  Populations served  Low 1,346  High 156,254  Average 69,713  All 100% groundwater  Aquifer types  Floridan  Biscayne  Upper Surficial  Sand and Gravel  Wellfield distance from

coast

 Average 9 miles

Flagler Volusia Brevard Martin Palm Beach Broward Miami-Dade Collier Pasco Taylor

SLIDE 7

SALTWATER INTRUSION – FACTORS AFFECTING UTILITY

Included “Well Rotation” and “Canal”

33% 17% 33% 17% Increased Drawdown Decreased Recharge Sea Level Rise Other 25% 8% 59% 8% Now In 50 years

 Saltwater intrusion expected to impact utility:

Average Year 2076

SLIDE 8

SALTWATER INTRUSION – FEASIBLE AND IMPLEMENTED ADAPTATION STRATEGIES

2 4 6 8 10 12

Diversify water supply options Connect with regional water supplies Facilitate water recycling Limit SWI through barriers and aquifer recharge Improve treatment to address WQ issues Install new wells further inland Practice water conservations Implemented Agree Neutral Disagree

SLIDE 9

CLIMATE CHANGE – INFORMATION AND PLANNING

 85% respondents

believe climate change is occurring

 33% familiar with

utility adaptation strategies

At least quarterly Yearly Never

 Frequency discussing

climate change at utility

SLIDE 10

FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNING

 Utility constraints  More immediate problems prioritized  Current state of utility and

infrastructure

 Information constraints  Insufficient science and uncertainty  Insufficient dialog between scientists

and utilities

 Unfamiliar with planning tools

 No utilities used EPA’s Strategies Guide

r CREAT

SLIDE 11

CONCLUSIONS

 Some utilities are planning for

saltwater intrusion and climate change.

 Need greater understanding of

specific impacts and adaptation planning tools

 Saltwater intrusion is not an

imminent concern.

 Communication between

scientists, utilities, and policy makers needs improvement.

SLIDE 12

NEXT STEPS IN RESEARCH

 Focus on Florida utilities’  Saltwater intrusion monitoring, modeling, adaptation  Interest in using adaptation planning tools  Water quality concerns; water treatment and