Incorporating climate considerations into coastal wastewater - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jim Hawhee, M.S., J.D. Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership 17 April 2013 K.E. White Center Elizabeth City State University

Incorporating climate considerations into coastal wastewater infrastructure planning and investment

Jim Hawhee, M.S., J.D. Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP) 17 Apr 2013 K.E. White Center Elizabeth City State University

APNEP mission

To identify, protect, and restore the significant resources of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system

APNEP watershed and management area

What we’re doing…

APNEP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan Action D3.3: Provide assistance to state, regional, and local governments to incorporate climate change and sea level rise considerations into their planning processes.

… and what we’re not

House Bill 819 § 113A-107.1. Sea-level policy (b) No rule, policy, or planning guideline that defines a rate of sea- level change for regulatory purposes shall be adopted except as provided by this section.

The challenge

Map credit: Dr. Tom Allen, ECU

The challenge

• Small tax base
• Flat topography
• Storm surge vulnerability

(including Hurricanes Irene, Sandy)

• Projected sea level rise

and associated land use changes

Project overview

• Pilot test CREAT 2.0 (Climate Resilience

Evaluation and Awareness Tool) and evaluate its utility for small wastewater infrastructure systems.

• Provide infrastructure planning

recommendations for Manteo and Columbia to consider for integration into their capital improvement planning processes.

CREAT

• Software tool developed by EPA’s Climate Ready Water

Utilities Program (CRWU)

• Provides data from national assessment of climate

change impacts.

• CREAT allows users to evaluate potential impacts of

climate change on their utility and to evaluate adaptation options.

• CREAT provides libraries of assets (e.g., water resources,

treatment plants, pump stations) possible climate change-related threats (e.g., flooding, drought, water quality), and adaptive measures.

Climate risks identified

• Hurricanes
• Flooding
• Sea level rise
• All of these issues are

currently system stressors (Hurricane Irene, TS Beryl, current infiltration and inflow issues).

Pair risks with infrastructure assets

• Saltwater intrusion (infiltration and inflow) /

pipes

• Damage to infrastructure from hurricanes and

coastal storms / pump stations, treatment plants

• Projected land use changes

Manteo WW System

• 9 mi. gravity sewer
• 3 mi. force main
• 8 lift stations
• Tertiary treatment
• Outdated state GIS

information

• Substantial recent

investments

Columbia WW System

• little GIS information

available

Characterize vulnerability for asset/threat pairs

• Qualitative
• Assessing consequence: low, medium, high, very

high

• Assess baseline and after adaptive actions

adopted

Develop adaptation packages

• Manteo
• increase in WWTP capacity
• infrastructure improvements related to flooding
• Columbia
• green infrastructure and sludge and biosolids

management

• infrastructure improvements related to flooding
• saltwater intrusion
• Each package provides several actions for consideration.

A deeper look at risk projections: sea level rise scenarios

• Current state planning guidance only provides

scenarios for 2100 (CRC Science Panel for Coastal Hazards).

• CREAT integrates sophisticated national models

and customizable parameters for available local data to provide sea level rise scenarios at five year intervals.

• 25 and 50 year intervals selected for analysis.

Sea-level rise scenarios: CREAT

SLR Rates in Manteo and Columbia: CREAT 2035 2060 High (1.5m by 2100) 8 inches 23 inches Medium (1m by 2100) 7 inches 18 inches Low (.5m by 2100) 5 inches 12 inches

Integration of local data

• N.C. Coastal Atlas, in development, contains SLR projections

based on work by Tom Allen (ECU): http://nccohaz.ecu.edu/coastalatlas/viewer/SLR.html

• Not appropriate for site-specific analysis, but can provide local

insights on the geographical patterns and extent of SLR projections over time.

• Map primarily based on elevation data, with some

refinements to better approximate rising water levels.

• Potential uses include identifying changing land use patterns,

siting infrastructure projects, or developing SLR adaptation strategies.

Lessons Learned

• Local, state, and national information resources, consulted

at an early stage, will improve the planning process.

• Utilities using this tool might consider enlisting a small

support team of utility, climate, environmental, and public health experts.

• CREAT provides a methodical framework to examine climate

pressures on water utility systems and develop practical solutions.

• Short term climate scenarios (25-50 years), provided by

CREAT, are instructive for utility planning purposes.

• CREAT is an iterative process, and can be updated as new

assets, threats, or solutions are identified.

Questions?

Jim Hawhee jim.hawhee@apnep.org (919) 707-8632