U.S. Environmental Protection Agency March 2012 
 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Disclaimer 

To the extent this document mentions or discusses statutory or regulatory authority, it does so 

for informational purposes only. This document does not substitute for those statutes or 

regulations, and readers should consult the statutes or regulations to learn what they require. 

Neither this document, nor any part of it, is itself a rule or a regulation. Thus, it cannot change or 

impose legally binding requirements on EPA, States, the public, or the regulated community. 

Further, any expressed intention, suggestion or recommendation does not impose any legally 

binding requirements on EPA, States, tribes, the public, or the regulated community. Agency 

decision makers remain free to exercise their discretion in choosing to implement the strategic 

actions described in this 2012 Strategy. Implementation of strategic actions contained herein is 

contingent upon availability of resources and are subject to change. 

Definitions of Key Terms
 

From: America’s Climate Choices (NRC, 2010a-d)
 

Adapt, Adaptation: Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment that
 

exploits beneficial opportunities or moderates negative effects.
 

Adaptive capacity: The ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and 


extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the 


consequences.
 

Mitigation: An intervention to reduce the causes of changes in climate, such as through reducing 


emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
 

Resilience: A capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover, from significant multi-hazard 


threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and the environment.
 

Risk: A combination of the magnitude of the potential consequence(s) of climate change impact(s) and 


the likelihood that the consequence(s) will occur.
 

Stationarity: The idea that natural systems fluctuate within an unchanging envelope of variability.
 

Vulnerability: The degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of
 

climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character,
 

magnitude, and rate of climate variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive 


capacity.
 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

*iii| Disclaimer 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

 

*** Public Comment Draft ***

*iv| Contents

Table of Contents 

I. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 1

A. The Evolving Context ...................................................................................................... 1

B. Programmatic Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions ........................................................ 3

C. Geographic Climate Regions........................................................................................... 3

D. Cross-Cutting Program Support....................................................................................... 4

E. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 5

II. Introduction: The Evolving Context ................................................................................. 10

A. 2008 Strategy vs. 2012 Strategy....................................................................................10

B. Relationship of the 2012 Strategy to Other Planning Activities ......................................10

C. Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources: Recent Literature .............................12

D. The Economics of Climate Change Actions...................................................................16

III. Framework For A Climate Ready National Water Program .............................................. 18

A. Guiding Principles .........................................................................................................18

B. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) .......................................................20

IV. Programmatic Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions ........................................................ 22

A. Infrastructure .................................................................................................................23

B. Watersheds and Wetlands.............................................................................................30

C. Coastal and Ocean Waters............................................................................................37

D. Water Quality.................................................................................................................48

E. Working With Tribes ......................................................................................................56

V. Geographic Climate Regions .......................................................................................... 59

A. Introduction ...................................................................................................................59

B. Ongoing Programs Relevant to Climate Change across All Regions .............................60

C. EPA and Climate Regions – Goals and Strategic Actions..............................................61

VI. Cross-Cutting Program Support ...................................................................................... 80

A. Goal 17: Communication, Collaboration, and Training ...................................................80

B. Goal 18: Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes..................................................84

C. Goal 19: Climate Change and Water Research Needs..................................................87
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

Table of Contents (continued) 

Appendix A: List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................. 90

Appendix B: Principles for an Energy Water Future ................................................................... 92

Appendix C: References ............................................................................................................ 94

Appendix D: Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices ........................................................... 101

Appendix E: Acknowledgments ................................................................................................ 106

*** Public Comment Draft ***

*v| Contents
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

I. Executive Summary
 

National Goal: Government agencies and citizens work collaboratively to manage freshwater 

resources in response to a changing climate in order to assure adequate water supplies, to protect 

human life, health and property, and to protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems. 

 Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force— Freshwater Workgroup 

EPA Vision: Despite the ongoing effects of climate change, the National Water Program will continue 

to achieve its mission to protect and restore our waters to ensure that drinking water is safe; and that 

aquatic ecosystems sustain fish, plants and wildlife, as well as economic, recreational, and 

subsistence activities. 

 EPA National Water Program 2012 Strategy 

Climate change poses significant challenges to water resources and the Environmental 

Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Water Program (NWP). The NWP 2012 Strategy: Response 

to Climate Change addresses climate change in the context of our water programs. It 

emphasizes assessing and managing risk and incorporating adaptation into core programs. 

Many of the programs and activities already underway throughout the NWP are even more 

important to do in light of climate change – such as protecting healthy watersheds and wetlands, 

managing stormwater with green infrastructure, improving the efficiency and sustainability of 

water infrastructure including promoting energy and water efficiency, and reducing pollutants. 

However, climate change poses such significant challenges to the nation’s water resources that 

more transformative approaches will be necessary. 

This 2012 Strategy articulates such a transformative approach. The reader is advised not to 

interpret the framing of individual strategic actions that use terms such as ”encourage” or 

“consider” to mean that the NWP doesn’t recognize the urgency of action. Rather, we recognize 

that adaptation is itself transformative, and requires a collaborative, problem solving approach 

especially in a resource-constrained environment. Further, “adaptive management” doesn’t 

imply a go-slow or a wait-and-see approach; rather, it is an active approach to understand 

vulnerability, reduce risk, and prepare for consequences. 

Table ES-1, below, summarizes the Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions described in this 2012 

Strategy. In total, we describe 5 Visions, 19 Goals, and 51 Strategic Actions. 

A. The Evolving Context 

The first National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change was published in 

2008; it identified 44 key actions that could be taken in the near term to begin to understand and 

address the potential impacts of climate change on water resources and EPA’s mission. This 

2012 Strategy builds upon the momentum gained since then; it describes a set of long term 

goals for the management of sustainable water resources for future generations in light of 

climate change and charts the key ‘building blocks,’ i.e., strategic actions that would need to be 

taken to achieve those goals. It also reflects the wider context of climate change-related activity 

that is underway throughout the nation. The 2012 Strategy is intended to be a roadmap to guide 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

1 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

future programmatic planning, and inform decision makers during the Agency’s annual planning 

process. It describes an array of important actions that should be taken to be a ‘climate ready’ 

national water program. 

The NWP 2012 Strategy is designed to reflect the findings of the Interagency Climate Change 

Adaptation Task Force (ICCATF), and includes EPA’s commitments under three climate change 

strategic plans under development within the federal government: 

 for freshwater resources by the ICCATF Freshwater Work Group, 

 for the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes by the National Ocean Council (NOC), and 

 for fish, wildlife, and plants by the National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation 

Workgroup. 

This 2012 Strategy is also intended to be consistent with EPA’s broader adaptation planning. 

Recognizing that climate change is one stressor among many others that water resource 

managers are grappling with, this strategy is also designed to build upon other initiatives such 

as the recent Coming Together for Clean Water strategy and the EPA’s Clean Water and Safe 

Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy. 

Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources 

 Increases in Water Pollution Problems due to warmer air and water temperatures and 

changes in precipitation patterns, causing an increase in the number of waters categorized as 

“impaired,” with associated impacts on human health and aquatic ecosystems; 

 Impacts on water infrastructure and aquatic systems due to more extreme weather events, 

including heavier precipitation and tropical and inland storms; 

 Changes to the Availability of Drinking Water Supplies due to increased frequency, severity and 

duration of drought, changing patterns of precipitation and snowmelt, increased evaporation, and aquifer 

saltwater intrusion, affecting public water supply, agriculture, industry, and energy production uses; 

 Waterbody Boundary Movement and Displacement as rising sea levels alter ocean and estuarine 

shorelines and as changes in water flow, precipitation, and evaporation affect the size of wetlands and 

lakes; 

 Changing Aquatic Biology due to warmer water and changing flows, resulting in deterioration of 

aquatic ecosystem health in some areas; 

 Collective Impacts on Coastal Areas resulting from a combination of sea level rise, increased 

damage from floods and storms, coastal erosion, salt water intrusion to drinking water supplies, and 

increasing temperature and acidification of the oceans; and 

 Indirect Impacts due to unintended consequences of human response to climate change, such as 

those resulting from carbon sequestration and other greenhouse gas reduction strategies. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

2 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

B. Programmatic Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions 

The core programmatic elements of this strategy include: 

 Infrastructure; 

 Watersheds and Wetlands; 

 Coastal and Ocean Waters; 

 Water Quality; and 

 Working with Tribes. 

Each section addressing these core 

elements is organized using a threetier framework: Vision, Goals, and 

Strategic Actions. Each section 

includes a long-term Vision, or 

outcome, for which EPA may be only 

one of many actors. 

Ten Guiding Principles 

 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) 

 Adaptive Management 

 Collaborative Learning and Capacity Development 

 Long Term Planning (i.e., multi-decadal time horizon) 

 Water-Energy Nexus 

 Systems & Portfolio Approach 

 Cost of Inaction 

 Environmental Justice 

 Performance Evaluation 

 Mainstreaming Climate Change into Core Programs 

For each Vision, we identify a set of Goals that reflects the same long-term time frame as the 

Vision. The Goals, however, articulate EPA’s mission and role in achieving the Vision, and 

describe what we are trying to achieve. 

Finally, each Goal contains several Strategic Actions. The Strategic Actions are the 

programmatic building blocks that are needed to achieve the Goals. These describe how the 

NWP plans to work over the next three to eight years in pursuit of our longer term Goals and 

Vision. 

C. Geographic Climate Regions 

The chapter on Geographic 

Climate Regions describes the 

collective strategic focus of EPA 

Regions working together, 

organized by the climate impact 

regions delineated by the U.S. 

Global Change Research 

Program (USGCRP) with the 

addition of a ‘Montane’ region 

(Figure ES-1). Several EPA 

Regions span multiple 

USGCRP regions and therefore 

each EPA Region will need to 

address a variety of climate 

impacts in its program 

implementation. Figure ES-1 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

3 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Successfully achieving the long term goals will require strong partnerships with federal 

agencies, states, tribes, local governments, and other stakeholders. Specific partnerships in 

each climate region will vary 

according to the needs and issues USGCRP Climate Regions and EPA Regions 

of that region. Of particular 

importance are the federal efforts 

underway by the ICCATF to 

develop ‘regional consortia’ of 

federal agencies to coordinate 

delivery of climate services to 

regional and local stakeholders 

and that include, among others: 

U.S. Department of the Interior’s 

(DOI) Landscape Conservation 

Cooperatives (LCCs) and Climate 

Science Centers (CSCs); and 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA’s) Regional 

Integrated Sciences and 

Assessments (RISAs) and 

National Climatic Data Centers. 

Climate Regions EPA Regions 

Northeast 1, 2, 3 

Southeast 3, 4, 6 

Midwest 2, 5,7 

Great Plains 6, 7, 8 

Southwest 6, 8, 9 

Pacific Northwest 8, 10 

Montane 8, 9, 10 

Alaska 10 

Caribbean Islands 2 

U.S. Pacific Islands and Territories 9 

D. Cross-Cutting Program Support 

Three Sections in this chapter describe essential processes to support and effectively 

implement the Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions. 

Communication, Collaboration, and Training: The NWP will strengthen and expand 

collaboration, outreach and training with key partners throughout EPA and within other federal 

agencies, work with State and Tribal water program managers, and use formal and informal 

stakeholder involvement opportunities. 

Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes: Measuring progress toward adaptation is 

complicated. The current state of practice leans largely to tracking institutional progress in 

incorporating climate change considerations into programs. Similarly, the NWP is developing an 

approach that evaluates the collectivity of outputs and actions to demonstrate progress in each 

of several phases towards achieving resilience to climate change. The NWP will work with the 

State-Tribal Climate Change Council and other partners to refine this approach. As EPA and the 

ICCATF develop methods for measuring outcomes, the NWP will incorporate those measures 

into its evaluation process. In addition, this 2012 Strategy includes the NWP’s commitment to 

meet the Agency-wide strategic measures adopted in the current EPA 2011-2015 Strategic 

Plan: 

 By 2015, additional programs from across EPA will promote practices to help Americans 

save energy and conserve resources, leading to expected greenhouse gas emissions 

reductions of 740.1 MMTCO2 Eq. from a baseline without adoption of efficient practices. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

4 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 The WaterSense Program will contribute to achieving greenhouse gas reduction 

goals through 2015. 

 By 2015, EPA will integrate climate change trend and scenario information into five major 

scientific models and/or decision-support tools used in implementing Agency environmental 

management programs to further EPA’s mission, consistent with existing authorities. 

 Under the Climate Ready Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative, the NWP will deploy an 

upgraded version of the Climate Ready Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT), 

as well as a comprehensive toolbox of water-related climate resources by the end of 

2012, to better assist water and wastewater utilities in becoming more resilient to 

climate change. 

 By 2015, EPA will account for climate change by integrating climate change trend and 

scenario information into five rule-making processes to further EPA’s mission, consistent 

with existing authorities. 

 The NWP will incorporate climate change considerations in the development and 

implementation of a rulemaking by 2015. 

 By 2015, EPA will build resilience to climate change by integrating considerations of climate 

change impacts and adaptive measures into five major grant, loan, contract, or technical 

assistance programs to further EPA’s mission, consistent with existing authorities. 

 The NWP will help National Estuary Program (NEP)grantees consider as a potential 

priority climate adaptation and resilience in their Comprehensive Conservation and 

Management Plans and develop climate adaptation plans and implementation 

strategies where considered a priority. 

Climate Change and Water Research Needs: The 2012 Strategy identifies the types of 

research needed to support the goals and strategic actions. The NWP will continue to work with 

the Office of Research and Development (ORD), other water science agencies, and the water 

research community to further define needs and develop collaborative and coordinated research 

opportunities. 

E.	 Conclusion 

Climate change alters the hydrological background in which EPA’s programs function. In 

response, EPA must revise data collection, analytical methods, and even regulatory practices 

that have been developed over the past 40 years since passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA) 

and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This is no easy task. Ensuring EPA’s programs 

continue to protect public health and the environment and sustain the economy requires 

immediate and sustained collaboration at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

5 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions 

 Infrastructure: In the face of a changing climate, resilient and adaptable drinking water, wastewater and 

stormwater utilities (i.e. the water utility sector) ensure clean and safe water to protect the nation’s public 

health and environment by making smart investment decisions to improve the sustainability of their 

infrastructure and operations and the communities they serve, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions 

through greater energy efficiency. 

Goal 1: 

• SA1: Improve access to vetted climate and hydrological science, 

modeling, and assessment tools through the Climate Ready Water 

Utilities program. 

• SA2: Assist wastewater and water utilities to reduce greenhouse gas 

Build the body of information emissions and increase long-term sustainability with a combination of 

and tools needed to energy efficiency, co-generation, and increased use of renewable energy 

incorporate climate change 

into planning and decision 

making. 

resources. 

• SA3: Explore climate change challenges to drinking water safety and 

assist public water systems in meeting health-based drinking water 

standards.. 

• SA4: Promote sustainable design approaches to ensure the long-term 

sustainability of infrastructure and operations. 

Goal 2: 

Support Integrated Water 

Resources Management to 

sustainably manage water 

resources. 

• SA5: Understand and promote through technical assistance the use of 

water supply management strategies. 

• SA6: Evaluate and provide technical assistance on the use of water 

demand management strategies. 

• SA7: Increase cross-sector knowledge of water supply climate 

challenges and develop watershed specific information to inform 

decision making. 

 Watersheds & Wetlands: Watersheds are protected, maintained and restored to ensure climate 

resilience and to preserve the ecological, social and economic benefits they provide; and the nation’s 

wetlands are maintained and improved using integrated approaches that recognize their inherent value as 

well as their role in reducing the impacts of climate change. 

Goal 3: 

Identify, protect, and maintain 

a network of healthy 

watersheds and supportive 

habitat corridor networks. 

• SA8: Develop a national framework and support efforts to protect 

remaining healthy watersheds and aquatic ecosystems. 

• SA9: Collaborate with partners on terrestrial ecosystems and hydrology 

so that effects on water quality and aquatic ecosystems are considered. 

• SA10: Integrate protection of healthy watersheds throughout the NWP 

core programs. 

• SA11: Increase public awareness of the role and importance of healthy 

watersheds in reducing the impacts of climate change. 

Goal 4: 

Incorporate climate resilience 

into watershed restoration and 

floodplain management. 

• SA12: Consider a means of accounting for climate change in EPA 

funded and other watershed restoration projects. 

• SA13: Work with federal, state, tribal, and local partners to protect and 

enhance buffers to rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and coastal 

resources as a means of building resiliency. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

6 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions 

Goal 5: 

Watershed protection practices 

incorporate Source Water 

Protection to protect drinking 

water supplies. 

• SA14: Encourage states to update their source water delineations, 

assessments or protection plans to address anticipated climate change 

impacts. 

• SA15: Continue to support collaborative efforts to increase state and 

local awareness of source water protection needs and opportunities, and 

encourage inclusion of source water protection areas in local climate 

change adaptation initiatives. 

Goal 6: 

Incorporate climate change 

considerations into the CWA 

404 regulatory program as 

they relate to permit reviews 

and compensatory mitigation. 

• SA16: Consider the effects of climate change, as appropriate, when 

making significant degradation determinations in the CWA Section 404 

wetlands permitting and enforcement program. 

• SA17: Evaluate, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

how wetland and stream compensation projects could be selected, 

designed, and sited to aid in reducing the effects of climate change. 

Goal 7: 

Improve baseline information 

on wetland extent, condition 

and performance to inform 

effective adaptation to climate 

change 

• SA18: Expand wetland mapping by supporting wetland mapping 

coalitions and training on use of the new federal Wetland Mapping 

Standard. 

• SA19: Produce a statistically valid ecological condition assessment of 

the nation’s wetlands. 

 Coastal and Ocean Waters: Adverse effects of climate change along with collective stressors and 

unintended adverse consequences of responses to climate change have been successfully prevented or 

reduced in the ocean and coastal environment. Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, organizations, 

and institutions are working cooperatively; and information necessary to integrate climate change 

considerations into ocean and coastal management is produced, readily available, and used. 

Goal 8: 

Collaborate to ensure 

information and methodologies 

for ocean and coastal areas 

are collected, produced, 

analyzed, and easily available. 

• SA20: Collaborate to ensure that synergy occurs, lessons learned are 

transferred, federal efforts effectively help local communities, and efforts 

are not duplicative or at cross-purposes.. 

• SA21: Work to be sure that knowledge and information needed to 

protect ocean and coastal areas is collected, produced, analyzed, and 

formatted for users, and is easily available.. 

Goal 9: 

Support and build networks of 

local, tribal, state, regional and 

federal collaborators to take 

effective adaptation measures 

for coastal and ocean 

environments through EPA’s 

geographically targeted 

programs. 

• SA22: Work with the NWP’s larger geographic programs to incorporate 

climate change considerations, focusing on both the natural and built 

environments. 

• SA23: Address climate change adaptation and build stakeholder 

capacity when implementing NEP Comprehensive Conservation and 

Management Plans and through the Climate Ready Estuaries Program. 

• SA24: Conduct outreach and education, and provide technical 

assistance to state and local watershed organizations and communities 

to build adaptive capacity in coastal areas outside the NEP and Large 

Aquatic Ecosystem programs. 

Goal 10: 

Address climate driven 

environmental changes in 

• SA25: Support coastal wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water 

infrastructure owners and operators in reducing climate risks and 

encourage adaptation in coastal areas. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

7 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions 

coastal areas and ensure that 

mitigation and adaptation are 

conducted in an 

environmentally responsible 

manner. 

• SA26: Support climate readiness of coastal communities, including 

hazard mitigation, pre-disaster planning, preparedness, and recovery 

efforts. 

• SA27: Support preparation and response planning for impacts to coastal 

aquatic environments. 

Goal 11: 

Protect ocean environments by 

incorporating shifting 

environmental conditions and 

other emerging threats into 

EPA programs. 

• SA28: Consider climate change impacts on marine water quality in NWP 

ocean management authorities, policies, and programs. 

• SA29: Utilize available authorities and work with the Regional Ocean 

Organizations and other federal and state agencies through regional 

ocean groups and other networks to ensure offshore renewable energy 

production does not adversely affect the marine environment. 

• SA30: Support the evaluation of sub-seabed and ocean sequestration of 

CO2. 

• SA31: Participate in interagency development and implementation of 

federal strategies through the NOC and the NOC Strategic Action Plans. 

 Water Quality: Our Nation’s surface water, drinking water, and ground water quality are protected, and 

the risks of climate change to human health and the environment are diminished, through a variety of 

adaptation and mitigation strategies. 

Goal 12: 

Protect waters of the United 

States and promote 

management of sustainable 

surface water resources. 

• SA32: Encourage states and communities to incorporate climate change 

considerations into their water quality planning. 

• SA33: Encourage green infrastructure and low-impact development to 

protect water quality and make watersheds more resilient. 

• SA34: Promote consideration of climate change impacts by National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting authorities. 

• SA35: For future Total Maximum Daily Loads, recommend that water 

quality authorities consider climate change impacts when developing 

waste load and load allocations. 

• SA36: Identify and protect designated uses that are at risk from climate 

change impacts. 

• SA37: Clarify how to re-evaluate aquatic life water quality criteria on 

more regular intervals; and develop information to assist States and 

Tribes who are developing criteria that incorporate climate change 

considerations for hydrologic condition. 

Goal 13: 

As the nation makes decisions 

to reduce greenhouse gases 

and develop alternative 

sources of energy and fuel, 

work to protect water 

resources from unintended 

adverse consequences. 

• SA38: Seek opportunities to provide additional assistance to states and 

permittees to assure that geologic sequestration of CO2 is responsibly 

managed. 

• SA39: Work with ORD to better understand the risks of storing ethanolsupplemented transportation fuels and with the Office of Underground 

Storage Tanks to explore options to mitigate such risk through updated 

policies. 

• SA40: Provide outreach materials for stakeholders to encourage the 

adoption of alternative sources of energy and fuels that are water 

efficient and maintain water quality. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

8 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions 

• SA41: As climate change affects the operation or placement of 

reservoirs, work with other federal agencies and EPA programs to 

understand the combined effects of climate change and hydropower on 

flows, water temperature, and water quality. 

Goal 14: 

Collaborate to make 

hydrological and climate data 

and projections available. 

• SA42: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters and ground 

water. 

• SA43: Collaborate with other federal agencies to develop new methods 

for use of updated precipitation, storm frequency, and observational 

streamflow data, as well as methods for evaluating projected changes in 

low flow conditions. 

• SA44: Enhance flow estimation using National Hydrography Dataset 

Plus (NHDPlus). 

 Working With Tribes: Tribes are able to preserve, adapt, and maintain the viability of their culture, 

traditions, natural resources, and economies in the face of a changing climate. 

Goal 15: 

Incorporate climate change 

considerations in the 

implementation of core 

programs, and collaborate with 

other EPA Offices and federal 

agencies to work with tribes on 

climate change issues on a multimedia basis. 

• SA45: Ensure that the revised NWP Tribal Strategy and subsequent 

implementation of CWA, SDWA, and other core programs incorporate 

climate change as a key consideration. 

• SA46: Incorporate adaptation into tribal funding mechanisms, and 

collaborate with other EPA and federal funding programs to support 

sustainability and adaptation in tribal communities. 

Goal 16: 

Ensure tribes have access to 

information on climate change for 

decision making. 

• SA47: Collaborate to explore and develop climate change science, 

information and tools for tribes, and incorporate local knowledge. 

• SA48: Collaborate to develop communication materials relevant for 

tribal uses and tribal audiences. 

Cross-Cutting Program Support 

Goal 17: 

Communicate, Collaborate, and 

Train. 

• SA49: Continue building the communication, collaboration, and 

training mechanisms needed to effectively increase adaptive capacity 

at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels. 

Goal 18: 

Track Progress and Measure 

Outcomes 

• SA50: Adopt a phased approach to track programmatic progress 

towards Strategic Actions; achieve commitments reflected in the 

Agency Strategic Plan; work with the EPA Work Group to develop 

outcome measures. 

Goal 19: 

Identify Climate Change and 

Water Research Needs 

• SA51: Work with ORD, other water science agencies, and the water 

research community to further define needs and develop research 

opportunities to deliver the information needed to support 

implementation of this 2012 Strategy, including providing the decision 

support tools needed by water resource managers. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

9 | Executive Summary 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

II. Introduction: The Evolving Context 

A. 2008 Strategy vs. 2012 Strategy 

The National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change, published in 2008 (2008 

Strategy), describes the likely effects that climate change will have on water resources and their 

implications for the EPA’s NWP.1 The 2008 Strategy laid out 44 “key actions” that the NWP 

intended to take during 2008-2009, and an update extended the period of action to 2010-2011 

(EPA, 2008a). 

The 2012 Strategy describes a longer-term vision for the management of sustainable water 

resources in light of climate change and identifies the key ’building blocks’ or strategic actions 

that need to be taken to achieve the long term goals. It also reflects the wider context of climate 

change-related activity that is underway throughout the nation. This 2012 Strategy is a roadmap 

that reflects directional intention. While it describes an array of important actions that should be 

taken to be a ‘climate ready’ national water program, it does not outline commitments to act 

within a specific time frame. All proposed activities are contingent upon availability of resources 

and subject to change as new information develops to inform adaptive responses. 

B. Relationship of the 2012 Strategy to Other Planning Activities 

The Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force (the Task Force) was established 

under Executive Order 13514 (CEQ, 2009) to develop recommendations for climate change 

adaptation. On October 5, 2010, the Task Force delivered its initial report to the President with a 

first set of recommendations (CEQ, 2010a). 

Two recommendations in the October 2010 Task Force Report inform the development of the 

2012 Strategy. First, the Task Force’s Freshwater Workgroup2 was asked to develop a 

National Action Plan (NAP) in coordination with similar action plans under development; one by 

ICCATF’s Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Workgroup (FWP Workgroup) and 

the other by the National Ocean Council (NOC) addressing ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

resources. An ICCATF coordinating team has work together to ensure that the three national 

adaptation strategies produced by these three workgroups are complementary. 

Subsequently, the Freshwater Workgroup published the NAP titled Priorities for Managing 

Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate3 (CEQ, 2011a) which describes a National Goal, 

supported by six recommendations: 

1 The term ‘National Water Program’ refers to the Office of Water (OW) plus the water programs in the ten EPA 

Regions, and recognizes that many of our programs are implemented by state and tribal water authorities. 

2 Since 2009, Michael Shapiro, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water, has served as co-chair of the Task 

Force’s Water Workgroup along with Matthew Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Climate and Land Use Change, 

and Jeffrey Peterson, CEQ Deputy Associate Director for Water Policy. 

3 Printed copies of the National Action Plan are available by sending an email stating addressee, mailing address, 

and the number of copies desired (limit of 3) to the following address: adaptation@ceq.eop.gov. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

10 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

National Goal: Government agencies and citizens work collaboratively to manage freshwater resources 

in response to a changing climate in order to assure adequate water supplies, to protect human life, 

health and property, and to protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems. 

 Recommendation #1: Establish a Planning Process and Organizational Framework 

 Recommendation # 2: Improve Water Resources and Climate Change Information 

 Recommendation # 3: Strengthen Assessment of Vulnerability 

 Recommendation # 4: Expand Water Use Efficiency 

 Recommendation # 5: Support Integrated Water Resources Management 

 Recommendation # 6: Support Training and Outreach to Build Response Capability 

 ICCATF Freshwater National Action Plan (CEQ, 2011a) 

The Freshwater NAP lays out 24 key actions that support the six recommendations. For some 

of the supporting actions, EPA will provide leadership, and for those led by other federal 

Agencies, EPA will participate as a team member, as appropriate. EPA water program staff and 

managers also participate on the National Ocean Council (NOC, 2011) and the FWP Workgroup 

(FWP, 2011), and EPA National Water Program’s commitments in those adaptation plans are 

also reflected in this 2012 Strategy. 

The second recommendation of the Interagency Task Force report called on every federal 

agency to develop and implement a climate adaptation plan addressing the challenges posed to 

our missions and operations. The 

Council on Environmental Quality Despite many successes over recent years, the rate at which (CEQ) issued implementation waters are being listed for impairment exceeds the rate at 

instructions on climate adaptation which they are being restored. The causes of degradation are 

planning to all federal agencies in many cases far more complex, and not as visible to the 

naked eye as they were years ago; the solutions are often (CEQ, 2011a and b); initial plans available technically, but because the pollution comes from are to be submitted by June multiple sources, and involves a greater array of pollutants and 

2012, and more complete plans stressors, it requires new and innovative partnerships and 

by June 2013. In response, EPA approaches. In some cases EPA and state authorities are 

limited in scope, and as a result it is challenging to directly established a Policy on Climate address root causes—i.e., population growth, urbanization, Change Adaptation, issued June agriculture and other nonpoint source pollution. Building strong 2, 2011 (EPA, 2011a), and and effective partnerships with the widest range of 

formed a cross-EPA Work stakeholders, state, local, and tribal partners, and other federal 

Group on Climate Change agencies has never been so urgent if we are to protect our 

water and its multiple uses for generations to come. Adaptation Planning (EPA Work
 

Group). The Office of Water  Coming Together for Clean Water, (EPA, 2011b)
 

(OW) and the ten EPA Regions
 

participate on the EPA Work Group and will ensure that the two Strategies (NWP’s and EPA’s) 


are consistent and mutually reinforcing.
 

Additionally, EPA has adopted Agency-wide goals that call for each program office to
 

incorporate climate change science trend and scenario information into five major scientific
 

models and/or decision-support tools, five rule-making processes, and five major grant, loan,
 

contract, or technical assistance programs, and sets a target for reducing greenhouse gas
 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

11 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

emissions through energy and resource conservation [EPA, 2010a]. This 2012 Strategy reflects 

the NWP’s commitment to achieving each of these measures by 2015. (See the section in 

Chapter V on Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes for more discussion.) 

Finally, in 2010 EPA convened a forum to discuss how to accelerate progress protecting the 

nation’s waters. The resulting white paper, titled Coming Together for Clean Water (CT4CW) 

recognizes that climate change is just one of the several stressors to water resources (EPA, 

2011b). The Coming Together strategy presents a framework for how EPA’s national water 

program will work to address today’s clean water challenges, such as stormwater, nutrients, and 

protecting and restoring watersheds. The Infrastructure Sustainability Policy reflects EPA’s goal 

to ensure that federal investments, policies, and actions support water infrastructure in efficient 

and sustainable locations to best aid existing communities, enhance economic competitiveness, 

and promote affordable neighborhoods. The NWP 2012 Strategy should be viewed as an indepth treatment of climate change, addressing one of the new and challenging issues facing our 

program, and as an integral and complementary part of overall NWP strategic planning and 

initiatives. 

C. Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources: Recent Literature 

Assessments and other reports recently published reinforce the findings in the 2008 Strategy 

that climate change has significant implications for water resources and water programs. They 

support EPA’s determination that these implications need to be addressed in each part of the 

NWP in order to achieve EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment. It is 

important to note that not all impacts 

of climate change will necessarily be 

disruptive to particular programmatic 

endpoints, and that some could at 

least in the near term provide 

beneficial opportunities. However, on 

balance the range of challenges 

posed by the interface between built 

and natural systems and the changing 

hydrometeorological background 

conditions is likely to require response 

actions in order to minimize 

detrimental effects to current built and 

natural systems. The impacts listed 

here refer to the general risks to water 

resources posed by climate change, 

but whether and to what degree these 

risks are likely to be realized in 

specific locations will require local 

assessment. The reader is referred to 

the original 2008 Strategy, as well as 

Figure 1. Global surface temperature change - 1880 to 

2010 (degrees Celsius) –compared to base period 1951-1980 

Black curve shows annual average temperatures; red curve 

shows a 5-year running average; green bars indicate the 

estimated uncertainty in the data during different periods of 

the record. Source: NASA GISS updated through 2010 at 

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/. 

more recent literature cited below, for a more detailed discussion of the implications of climate 

change for water resources and EPA’s water programs, which include: 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

12 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Increases in Water Pollution Problems: Warmer air temperatures will result in warmer 

water. Warmer waters will hold less dissolved oxygen making instances of low oxygen 

levels and “hypoxia” more likely (i.e., when dissolved oxygen declines to the point where 

aquatic species can no longer survive); foster harmful algal blooms; and change the toxicity 

of some pollutants. 

 The number of waters categorized as “impaired” is likely to increase, even if pollution levels 

are stable, with associated impacts on human health from waterborne disease and 

degradation of aquatic ecosystems. 

 Impacts on water infrastructure and aquatic systems due to more extreme weather 

events: Heavier precipitation in tropical and inland storms will increase the risks of flooding, 

expand floodplains, increase the variability of streamflows (i.e., higher high flows and lower 

low flows), increase the velocity of water during high flow periods and increase erosion. 

These changes will have adverse effects on water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. 

For example, increases in intense rainfall result in more nutrients, pathogens, and toxins 

being washed into waterbodies. 

 Changes to Water Availability: In some parts of the country, droughts, changing patterns 

of precipitation and 

snowmelt, and increased 

water loss due to 

evaporation as a result of 

warmer temperatures will 

result in changes to the 

availability of water for 

drinking and for use for 

agriculture, industry, and 

energy production. In other 

areas, sea level rise and 

salt water intrusion will 

have the same effect. 

Warmer air temperatures 

may also result in creased 

demands on community 

water supplies and the 

water needs for agriculture, 

industry, and energy 

production are likely to 

increase. 

 Waterbody Boundary 

Movement and 

Displacement: Rising sea 

levels will move ocean and 

estuarine shorelines by 

inundating lowlands, 

displacing wetlands, and 

altering the tidal range in rivers and bays. Changing water flow to lakes and streams, 

increased evaporation, and changed precipitation in some areas, will affect the size of 

wetlands and lakes. Water levels in the Great Lakes are expected to fall. 

Figure 2. Projected Changes in Annual Runoff: 2041-2060 

Runoff, which accumulates as streamflow, is the amount of 

precipitation that is not evaporated, stored as snowpack or soil 

moisture, or filtered down to groundwater. Projected changed in 

median runoff for 2041 – 2060, relative to a 1901 – 1970 baseline, are 

mapped by water-resource region. Colors indicate percentage changes 

in runoff. Hatched areas indicate greater confidence due to strong 

agreement among model projections. White areas indicate divergence 

among model projections. Results are based on emissions in between 

the lower and higher emissions scenarios of the IPCC. Image credit: 

U.S. Global Change Research Program (www.globalchange.gov). 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

13 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Changing Aquatic Biology: As waters become warmer, the aquatic life they now support 

will be replaced by other species better adapted to the warmer water (i.e., cold water fish 

will be replaced by warm water fish). This process, however, will occur at an uneven pace 

disrupting aquatic system health and allowing non-indigenous and/or invasive species to 

become established. In the long-term (i.e., 50 years), warmer water and changing flows 

may result in significant deterioration of aquatic ecosystem health in some areas. 

 Collective Impacts on Coastal Areas: Most areas of the United States will see several 

water-related impacts, but coastal areas are likely to see multiple impacts associated with 

climate change (e.g., sea level rise, increased damage from floods and storms, coastal 

erosion, changes in drinking water supplies, and increasing temperature and acidification of 

the oceans); acidification (e.g., decreases in pH, decreases in carbonate ion availability for 

calcifying organisms, changes in fish behavior); and nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, that 

could result in more profound consequences to water resources and ecosystem services. 

These overlapping impacts make protecting water resources in coastal areas especially 

challenging. 

 Indirect Impacts: Likely response to 

climate change include development of 

alternative methods of energy and fuel 

production that reduce emissions of 

greenhouse gases as well as finding ways 

to sequester carbon generated by energy 

production. Alternative methods of both 

energy production and sequestration can 

have impacts on water resources, 

including: increased water use and 

withdrawals, potential nonpoint pollution 

impacts of expanded agricultural 

production, increased water temperatures 

due to discharge of process cooling 

waters, pollution concentration due to low 

flows, and effects of carbon sequestration 

on groundwater or ocean environments. 

As noted, not all near term impacts of 

climate change will necessarily be 

disruptive, and could, in some cases 

provide benefits. For example, increased 

precipitation could improve flows 

supporting aquatic ecosystem health in 

some areas, and changing sea levels 

could aid submerged aquatic vegetation. 

Recent publications on the impacts of 

climate change include the June 2009 

report titled Global Climate Change Impacts in 

the United States, produced by the USGCRP 

(formerly the U.S. Climate Change Science Program). The report reviews the scientific findings 

of twenty-one Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs), and builds on previous USGCRP 

Figure 3. Increases in annual Number of Days with 

Very Heavy Precipitation. 

Image credit: U.S. Global Change Research Program 

(www.globalchange.gov). 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

14 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. It describes both 

observed and expected impacts of climate change for the United States and presents regional 

and sectoral assessments (USGCRP, 2009a). In December 2009, EPA issued the 

Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) 

of the Clean Air Act. EPA relied on the major scientific assessment reports to find that 

greenhouse gases pose a risk to public health and welfare. Observed and projected impacts of 

climate change on water resources in the U.S. were components of the Findings (EPA, 2009a). 

The National Research Council (NRC) produced a set of reports in 2010 at the request of 

Congress (Public Law 110-161) to study the issues associated with global climate change and 

provide advice on the most effective steps and strategies that can be taken to respond. The 

study, entitled America’s Climate Choices, resulted in five reports: Advancing the Science of 

Climate Change, Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change, Adapting to the Impacts of 

Climate Change, Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related to Climate Change, and 

Synthesis for Policy Makers, synthesizing the previous four (NRC, 2010a-d). 

In late 2010, the NRC produced the report, Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, 

Concentrations, and Impacts over Decades to Millennia, including an associated brochure 

(NRC, 2010e; NRC, 2011a). The report describes likely ranges of temperature increases during 

the 21st century and beyond for a given concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, 

and associates those temperatures with likely effects on natural and human systems: 

Scientific progress has increased confidence in the understanding of how global warming 

levels of 1o, 2o, 3o, 4o, 5oC, and so on, affects many aspects of the physical climate system, 

including regional and seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation, as well as effects 

on hurricanes, sea ice, snow, permafrost, sea level, and ocean acidification. Climate 

Stabilization Targets attempts to quantify the outcomes of different stabilization targets on 

the climate system, as much as is possible based on currently available scientific evidence 

and information (NRC, 2011a). 

The Climate Stabilization Targets report then presents an indicative (not comprehensive) 

evaluation of likely impacts of each ◦

C (1 ◦C = 1.8 ◦F) of warming, including, for example: 

 5-10% changes in precipitation across many regions; 

 3-10% increases in the amount of rain falling during the heaviest precipitation events; 

 5-10% changes in streamflow across many river basins; 

 15% decreases in the annually averaged extent of sea ice across the Arctic Ocean, with 

25% decreases in the yearly minimum extent in September; and 

 5-15% reductions in the yields of crops as currently grown. 

Other effects of varying levels of warming include: 

 Increases in the number of exceptionally warm summers (i.e., 9 out of 10 boreal summers 

that are “exceptionally warm” in nearly all land areas for about 3°C of global warming, and 

every summer “exceptionally warm” in nearly all land areas for about 4°C, where an 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

15 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

“exceptionally warm” summer is defined as one that is warmer than all but about 1 of the 20 

summers in the last decades of the 20th century); 

 200-400% increases in the area burned by wildfire in parts of the western United States for 

1-2o

C; 

 Increased coral bleaching and net erosion of coral reefs due to warming and changes in 

ocean acidity (pH) for carbon dioxide (CO2) levels corresponding to about 1.5-3 o C; and 

 Sea level rise in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 meters in 2100, in a scenario corresponding to 

about 3 o C (plus or minus 1 o C), with an associated increase in the number of people at 

risk from coastal flooding, as well as wetland and dryland losses. 

Furthermore, the report underscores the point that “adaptation” is not a one-time event. Rather, 

we have entered an era of long-term continual change that must be considered by decision 

makers to inform ongoing adaptation strategies. The NWP will continue to monitor 

developments in climate change and water science, including new science efforts to support 

and inform adaptation strategies. 

D. The Economics of Climate Change Actions 

Many of the actions we could take to adapt to climate change are actions that provide value 

independent of changing climate. Siting new water infrastructure in a coastal area at an 

elevation that is resilient to storm surge in the face of sea level rise would be beneficial even at 

current sea levels. Coastal wetlands are important resources for a variety of services, of which 

protection from sea level rise and storm surge is only one important component. Sources for 

drinking water are already at risk; best management practices employed by water utilities and 

solutions encouraging water conservation and efficiency to deal with climate change impacts 

may also provide cost-effective relief from pressures caused by growing populations. In this 

sense, adaptation practices can be no or low-regret methods to manage risk in the face of 

uncertainty regarding the pace and magnitude of climate change effects, provided they costeffectively address stressors in addition to the risks posed by climate change. 

Quantifying the projected cost of climate change impacts with any degree of certainty is difficult 

due to the complexity, variability and uncertainty in the pace, magnitude and locally specific 

impacts of climate change. Likewise, it is hard to monetize the costs and benefits associated 

with the wide range of mitigation and adaptation opportunities available to water managers in 

the United States. Nevertheless, assigning a dollar value to actions and inactions related to 

climate change not only helps society determine its preferred level of mitigation and adaptation, 

but also provides a common unit of measure to compare among options, helping decisionmakers determine where and how to best implement mitigation and adaptation practices. The 

EPA Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses (EPA, 2010b) recognizes the complexity of 

environmental impacts more generally, while also explaining how valuation of such impacts can 

benefit decision-making. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

16 |Introd uction 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

The NWP will monitor developments and work with partners within and outside of EPA to 

explore ways to characterize costs and benefits to support climate change-related decision 

making. A sample of these studies follows4: 

 Kirshen et al. (2006) quantifies the climate change impacts on water quality, water supply, 

and water demand, among other areas of impact, in the Boston region. For example, they 

estimate capital costs to account for managing lower levels of dissolved oxygen due to 

warmer waters to range between $30 and $39 million. 

 Frederick and Schwarz (2000) look at the impact of increased flood damages and drought 

on the United States due to climate change, and estimate that annual average flood 

damages may increase from $5 billion in 1995 to $8 billion in 2030 to $18 billion in 2095. 

 Dore and Burton (2001) evaluate climate adaptation costs for a variety of actions in 

Canada. They estimate that expanding wastewater treatment capacity in Toronto to 

account for more intense precipitation and other impacts could range from $533 million to 

$9 billion, depending on the level of risk the city is willing to accept. 

 USGCRP’s Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States (2009) highlights a water 

resources adaptation decision. Boston’s Deer Island sewage treatment plant was built 1.9 

feet higher to account for projected sea level rise during the facility’s planned life (through 

2050) to avoid future costs to build a protective wall around the plant with pumps to 

transport effluent over the wall.. 

 Neuman et al. (2010), in an EPA-supported study, evaluated the costs of sea level rise 

impacts to the contiguous U.S. coastline. The study found that the cost is much larger than 

prior estimates suggest—more than $63 billion cumulative discounted cost (at 3%) for a 27 

inch rise by 2100, which corresponds to $230 billion in undiscounted cost.. 

 Studies related to wetlands also focus on protection from sea level rise and storm surges. 

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) notes that the State of Louisiana put in 

place a $14 billion wetland restoration plan (Coast 2050) to protect marsh, swamp, and 

barrier islands to reduce storm surges. 

 Workshop report: Valuation Techniques and Metrics for Climate Change Impacts, 

Adaptation, and Mitigation Options (NCA 2011).The goal of this workshop, convened by the 

interagency National Climate Assessment Task Force, was to provide a snapshot of the 

capabilities, readiness, and applicability of methodologies for quantitatively valuing climate 

impacts and adaptation. 

4 This list is intended to be illustrative of recent published research. EPA is not endorsing any specific estimate. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

17 |Introd uction 
 

Figure 4. Six Step Approach to Climate 

Change Adaptation Planning 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

III. Framework For A Climate Ready National Water Program 

EPA Vision: Despite the ongoing effects of climate change, the National Water Program 

wi continue to achieve its mission to protect and restore our waters; ensure that drinking 

water is safe; and assure that aquatic ecosystems sustain fish, plants and wildlife, as well 

as economic, recreational, and subsistence activities. 

Under the CWA, EPA is responsible for ensuring “water quality which provides for the protection 

and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water” 

through the control of point and nonpoint sources of pollution. Under the SDWA, EPA 

promulgates national primary drinking water regulations applicable to public water systems to 

protect human health from drinking water contaminants. EPA’s source water protection and 

preservation efforts aim to ensure abundant and clean drinking water supplies. However, as 

climate change shifts hydrological patterns and increases variability outside of historic norms, 

including frequency, severity and duration of drought or extreme rain events, achieving these 

goals will become more challenging. 

A.	 Guiding Principles 

To position the National Water Program as “Climate Ready,” we will work with stakeholders and 

partners to achieve our Vision. The NWP adopted the following ten principles that inform the 

development of the 2012 Strategy. These principles are consistent with, and reinforce, the 

principles promulgated by the ICCATF and reflect additional principles specific to managing 

water resources. 

ll

1.	 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM): Support collaboration among state, 

interstate, local tribal, and federal governments and among sectors to manage the quality 

and quantity of sustainable water 

resources within watersheds and 

underlying aquifers (IWRM is further 

discussed below). 

2.	 Adaptive Management: 

Acknowledge uncertainty as a 

context of decision making and 

build flexibility into policy and 

decision-making to manage risk and 

to allow for new knowledge input. 

Uncertainty is not necessarily a 

reason to defer decisions. 

The Flexible Framework adopted by 

the ICCATF (Figure 4) reflects both 

the evolution of climate science and 

the likelihood that the uncertainty 

regarding the timing, nature,
 

direction, and magnitude of localized climate change impacts will continue. Because
 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

18 |Framework 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/micro 

sites/ceq/Interagency-Climate-Change-Adaptation

Progress-Report.pdf [ICCATF, 2010] 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

19 |Framework

Principles for an Energy-Water Future 

(See Appendix B for full description) 

 Efficiency should form the foundation of how 

we develop, distribute, recover, and use 

energy and water.

 Generation and use of energy should have 

the smallest possible impact on water 

resources.

 Treatment, distribution, and use of water 

should have the smallest possible impact on 

energy resources. 

 Waste water treatment facilities should be 

viewed as renewable resource recovery 

facilities. 

 The water and energy sectors should move 

toward integrated resource management.

 Maximize comprehensive, societal benefits.

Dealing with Uncertainty 

Although we can glean clues about the likely impacts of 

future climate change from recent observations and 

research into Earth’s past, the picture is still incomplete 

and our predictions are uncertain. Future climate change 

will likely be fundamentally different from changes Earth 

experienced in the past because of the high temperatures 

that are projected, the rate of climate change, and the 

fact that climate change is occurring in a setting where 

human actions have already altered natural ecosystems 

in many other ways. Despite uncertainties about what the 

future holds, decisions can be made now. Strategies for 

managing ecosystems in the future will need to pay 

special attention to the issue of uncertainty. It will be 

important to make decisions based on the best currently 

available information, and implement them in a way that 

preserves the ability to make adjustments in the future as 

more information becomes available.

 Ecological Impacts of Climate Change,

[NRC, 2009]

investments such as for construction 

of water infrastructure are capital 

intensive, long-lived and require long 

lead times, building climate change 

considerations into the design of 

these investments is necessary even 

with some degree of uncertainty in 

climate projections. 

3. Collaborative Learning and 

Capacity Development: Collaborate 

with other federal water agencies and 

state, interstate, tribal and local water 

agencies to contribute to the 

development of long-range plans that 

account for climate change impacts.

Establish partnerships to assemble

and develop planning and decision 

support tools and the underlying data 

sets for climate change adaptation 

and mitigation.

4. Long Term Planning (i.e., multi-decadal time horizon): Look ahead and consider ways to 

reduce risk over time when making adaptation decisions. Incorporate concepts of 

sustainability and non-stationarity – i.e., continual change in the hydroclimatic system 

outside of assumed norms - into the implementation of water programs.

5. Water-Energy Nexus: Saving water 

saves energy and vice versa. Adaptation 

and mitigation go hand-in-hand and 

opportunities for both should be 

considered whenever possible. Managing 

the “water/energy nexus” will protect the 

aquatic environment while preserving 

freshwater resources for human uses and 

the economy.

6. Systems & Portfolio Approach: Design 

integrated and resilient solutions that 

address the inter-relationships among 

environmental, public health, social and 

economic aspects of a climate change 

impact and that avoids unintended 

consequences. Incorporate diversification 

that includes contingency plans 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

20 |Framework

(emergency preparedness and response) to be implemented should adaptation actions 

under-perform.

7. Cost of Inaction: Understand the risk of inaction and its cost (i.e., the value at risk) 

compared to the cost of proactively adapting to projected climate change impacts. Support 

decision making and express tradeoffs in terms of costs and benefits (quantified and nonquantified short- and long-term risks), as well as between action and inaction. 

8. Environmental Justice: Account for the most vulnerable by assuring that our plans and 

programs consider the needs of those with a higher degree of vulnerability (e.g., children, 

economically disadvantaged communities, tribes, and islands). 

9. Performance Evaluation: Set clear goals against which to assess performance and guide 

adaptation and refinement of program planning, policy design and implementation. Include

numeric targets where appropriate.

10. Mainstreaming Climate Change into Core Programs: As experience is gained and tools 

are developed, integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation into core programs.

Ultimately, we would no longer need a “climate change” strategy; rather, climate change 

would be factored in as the new background condition for managing water programs.

B. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) 

Because surface water and ground water flows across political jurisdictions, state and local 

government actions that are coordinated throughout watersheds and across the underlying 

aquifers can more successfully 

protect and preserve these 

resources than disparate actions 

taken piecemeal. Watershed and 

aquifer boundaries are the optimal 

organizing principle for state, 

interstate, tribal and local 

management of fresh water to 

ensure these resources remain 

abundant and clean across the 

nation. 

IWRM is a framework to holistically 

address current water resource 

issues and emerging climate 

change complications. There are 

several definitions of this term, but 

for the purpose of this strategy, the

NWP uses IWRM to describe 

opportunities for state, interstate, 

tribal and local officials to voluntarily collaborate at watershed or aquifer scales to protect and 

Case Study: IWRM in California 

In 2002, the Californian legislature passed the 

Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Act 

and established IRWM as the framework for 

collaborative planning for all aspects of water 

resources in a region. Between 2002 and 2006, 

California voters passed three Water Bonds 

authorizing $1.8 billion to fund competitive grants for 

IRWM planning and implementation. The California 

Department of Water Resources established 

guidelines for Regions to consider as they each 

developed their own coordination, planning and 

decision-making processes. Thus far, California has 

46 active IRWM regions, covering 82% of the State. In 

2011, EPA Region 9 worked with California to develop

a technical guide for incorporating climate change into 

IRWM planning (CA, 2011a). For more information on 

California's program, see: 

www.water.ca.gov/irwm/docs/Brochures/Brochure_IR

WM_020410.pdf 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

21 |Framework

preserve fresh water resources through mutually beneficial solutions. IWRM calls for inter-sector 

planning (e.g., between the energy sector and the water sector) to sustainably manage water 

resources. A short hand way to think of IWRM is “one water.” To be most effective, IWRM 

should take into account water quantity and quality, surface water and ground water, salinity of 

coastal estuaries, land use, point and nonpoint sources of pollution, green and grey 

infrastructure, and climate change adaptation and mitigation [EPA-R9 2011].

Strategic actions described throughout this document point to NWP efforts to work with other 

federal, state, interstate and tribal agencies in assembling information on the hydrologic 

relationships between surface water and ground water, and between water quality and quantity; 

developing planning support tools for water resource managers to address climate change 

adaptation; and building public understanding of the interaction between water use and the 

quality and sustainability of ground water and surface water.

The NWP will seek opportunities to integrate IWRM into national and regional activities and 

coordinate with other federal, state, interstate and tribal agencies to support IWRM at hydrologic 

scales. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

IV.Programmatic Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions 

This chapter is divided into five sections. Each section is organized using a three-tier 

framework: Vision, Goals, and Strategic Actions. Each section articulates a Vision for which 

EPA may be only one of many actors. This requires EPA to work collaboratively with other 

federal, state, tribal and local entities to achieve each Vision. 

For each Vision, we identify Goals that reflect the same long-term time frame as the Vision. The 

Goals, however, articulate EPA’s mission and role in achieving the Vision, and describe what 

we are trying to achieve. 

IWRM is a voluntary collaboration of 

state, interstate, local and tribal Each Goal entails several Strategic Actions which are the 

governments and among sectors to program building blocks to achieve the goal. The Strategic 

sustainably manage the quality and Actions describe how the NWP plans to work over the quantity of water resources within next three to eight years in pursuit of our longer term watersheds and underlying aquifers. Goals and Vision. 

Annual objectives will be incorporated into the annual budget and planning process of the 

Agency, and will reflect the availability of resources and priorities. Progress toward achieving 

Goals and Strategic Actions will be described in annual reports (see the section in Chapter V on 

Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes). 

The five sections of this chapter are: 

A.	 Infrastructure – including centralized or decentralized technologies and practices for 

wastewater, drinking water and stormwater management infrastructure; Climate Ready 

Water Utilities; energy use and co-generation; water supply and demand management. 

B.	 Watersheds and Wetlands – including landscape strategies to protect and restore 

watersheds, source water areas including ground water, and wetlands; natural 

infrastructure and low impact development. 

C.	 Coastal and Ocean Waters – including programs for coastal wetlands and estuaries; 

Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE); issues associated with coastal infrastructure and coastal 

drinking water (sea level rise, saline intrusion, etc.); ocean water quality, ocean habitats 

and marine life. 

D.	 Water Quality – including policies, programs, and regulatory controls to protect human 

health and ecological integrity, e.g., Water Quality Standards (WQS), TMDLs, NPDES 

permits, Green Infrastructure for stormwater management, underground injection control 

(UIC), wellhead protection, etc. 

E.	 Working With Tribes – including how the NWP will utilize “traditional knowledge” to help 

guide this strategy and long-term implementation of adaptation measures. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

22 |Visions & Goals 
 

"Because the perception that climate fluctuates 

around a stationary mean is in conflict with 

recently observed climate dynamics, decision 

makers need an approach that is responsive to 

changes in t i e ihood of ex r c mes he l k l t eme out o

as well as changes in the “average” climate ... 

Rather than managing the resource to maintain 

its past condition and state, management may 

need to take steps to protect the resource ... or 

allow the resource to change as needed to 

adapt to climate change .. . In other words the

managers of these resources must work to 

incorporate the impact of climate change in 

their plans and operations.” 

 NRC, 2010d 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

A. Infrastructure 

VISION: In the face of a changing climate, resilient and adaptable drinking water, 

wastewater and stormwater utilities (i.e., the water utility sector) ensure clean and safe 

water to protect the nation’s public health and environment by making smart investment 

decisions to improve the sustainability of their infrastructure and operations, and the 

communities they serve, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through greater energy 

efficiency. 

The viability of drinking water and wastewater 

treatment and related infrastructure directly 

affects the protection of public and ecosystem 

health. Population growth, land use change, 

aging infrastructure, economic and regulatory 

constraints, and various water quality stressors 

are already driving the water sector to take 

action. Climate change adds another dimension 

that will complicate these long standing 

challenges for water sector operators and 

public officials. This chapter highlights how the 

NWP plans to continue assisting the water 

sector in achieving public health and 

ecosystem objectives in light of climate change. 

GOAL1: The NWP works with the water utility sector to build the body of information and 

tools needed to incorporate climate change into planning and decision making to build the 

sector’s adaptive capacity, reduce greenhouse gases, and deliver drinking water and clean 

water services. 

This Goal highlights the objectives of the Climate Ready Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative to 

work with drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities to advance their understanding of 

climate science and adaptation options. Through the CRWU program, the NWP will seek to 

expand the water sector’s understanding of climate change risks and respond to the 

recommendations of the Climate Ready Water Utilities: Final Report of the National Drinking 

Water Advisory Council [NDWAC, 2010]. EPA’s Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water 

Infrastructure Sustainability Policy [EPA, 2010c] also encourages water sector utilities to 

incorporate climate change considerations into their planning and operations, and supports the 

work of the CRWU initiative. 

As recommended by the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) CRWU working 

group, climate change activities need to be closely coordinated with other federal and state 

agencies, water sector associations, non-governmental organizations and tribes. CRWU 

activities also need to be linked to other EPA programs such as the Climate Ready Estuaries 

(CRE) program, and Effective Utility Management (EUM). The EUM initiative is a collaborative 

partnership between EPA and major water sector associations, and is based on a series of 

attributes of effectively managed utilities including consideration of climate impacts. By 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

23 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

coordinating with these and other programs, utilities can ensure that their climate change 

adaptation and mitigation approaches more readily address utility and community sustainability 

priorities through utility-wide planning, ongoing asset management and infrastructure repair and 

replacement, emergency response, and capacity development. 

Strategic Action 1: The CRWU program will work to improve access to vetted climate data 

and hydrological science, modeling and assessment tools. This action reflects the NWP’s 

commitment to incorporate climate change science and trend information into a major tool 

by 2015. 

Water utility officials are struggling with the number and volume of climate change studies 

produced by federal and state agencies, water associations, universities and others. Concurrent 

with utilities moving forward to address climate change challenges, there is a strong need for 

continued investment in advancing the understanding of climate impacts and strategies 

(NDWAC, 2010). The NWP will continue to work with federal and state partners to improve 

access to hydrologic science and tools, such as trend and risk assessment tools, downscaled 

climate modeling, and advanced planning support models and decision support tools. 

CRWU will refine its Climate Resilience Education and Awareness Tool (CREAT) to assist water 

utilities with understanding potential climate change impacts and assess their risks. CREAT 

allows a utility to analyze how various adaptation strategies may help reduce climate risks, 

enabling them to prioritize the implementation of adaptation measures. CRWU will also improve 

a searchable toolbox of resources that support all stages of the decision process, from basic 

climate science through integration of mitigation and adaptation into long-term planning (EPA, 

2011c). 

Strategic Action 2: The NWP will assist wastewater and drinking water treatment plants to 

reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and increase their long-term sustainability. The 

NWP will leverage programs such as effective utility management, sustainable asset 

management, and energy management, to encourage a combination of energy efficiency, 

co-generation and renewable energy resources. 

About 80% of municipal water processing and distribution costs are for electricity, which 

comprises an estimated 3 - 4 % of national energy consumption; this percentage ranges up to 

13% when residential water use is included (EPRI, 2002; EPA, 2011d). In addition, the Water 

Environment Research Foundation (WERF, 2010) reports that sewage typically contains ten 

times the energy required to treat it, presenting an opportunity for using it as an energy source 

(co-generation). Improved energy management is important to reduce greenhouse gases and 

help insulate utilities from energy costs or supply disruptions (Figure 5). 

The NWP will continue encouraging water sector utilities to use its Energy Management 

Guidebook (EPA, 2008a) which uses a management systems approach to reduce energy use. 

As part of this effort, utilities are documenting benefits from adopting energy management 

programs, such as lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and operating costs. EPA has 

also developed a downloadable, Excel-based Energy Audit Tool (EAT) that will allow small and 

medium drinking water and wastewater utilities to determine baseline energy consumption and 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

24 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Nat on rogram 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change PreatWali

cost and highlight 

inefficiencies they may find 

useful in identifying energy 

improvement projects (EPA, 

2012). 

The NWP will continue to 

provide information on 

energy efficient and cogeneration technologies in 

consultation with other 

federal agencies, principally 

the Department of Energy 

(DOE), and will continue to 

collaborate with the Office 

of Air and Radiation and 

other partners to improve 

existing tools (e.g., 

ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio 

Manager) and develop new 

energy bench marking and auditing tools. 

Strategic Action 3: The NWP will explore climate change challenges to drinking water 

safety and assist public water systems, particularly small systems, in meeting healthbased drinking water standards. 

The NWP will continue working to enhance partnerships to improve water sector understanding 

of climate change adaptation options and identify technical assistance activities to help water 

systems comply with National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) under changing 

climate conditions. 

CRWU will focus in particular on developing tools for smaller systems. While larger utilities tend 

to have the resources to engage technical experts for assistance with operations, management 

and decision support for climate change, smaller utilities have fewer resources. Building 

capacity requires providing tools and assistance tailored to smaller utilities, including tools that 

will prepare them to adapt to the changing climate. CRWU climate change adaptation tools will 

augment the capacity development efforts of the EPA drinking water program to address small 

system challenges affecting sustainability, compliance, and day-to-day operations. The NWP 

will also encourage partnerships between water systems to ensure water systems are able to 

avoid disruptions and consistently provide safe drinking water to their customers. 

Strategic Action 4: The NWP will collaborate with partners to promote sustainable design 

approaches to ensure the long-term sustainability of infrastructure and operations.The OW 

is developing a handbook of information to help utilities incorporate sustainability considerations 

into their planning. The handbook will focus on key elements of planning such as aligning utility 

sustainability goals with other community priorities in areas like housing and transportation, 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

25 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

analyzing a range of infrastructure alternatives based on full life cycle costs including green and 

natural systems, and ensuring that a financial strategy, including appropriate rate structures, is 

in place to fund, operate, maintain, and replace the alternatives chosen. Energy efficiency and 

impacts associated with climate change can be considered throughout the elements described 

in the handbook. 

OW is also working with EPA's Office of Community Sustainability and 3 states (New York, 

Maryland, and California) to identify actions that can be taken to integrate the principles of the 

HUD-DOT-EPA Sustainable Communities Partnership into their Clean Water SRF programs. 

Options these states are considering include changes to intended use plans, project priority 

systems, and other funding guidance documents. Some of these changes could potentially 

provide incentives for projects that are energy efficient (that also help reduce GHG emissions) 

and/or that potentially reduce vulnerability to climate impacts. Information on the results of these 

pilots will be shared with other state Clean Water and Drinking Water Programs. 

GOAL 2: EPA programs support IWRM in the water utility sector to sustainably manage 

water resources in the face of climate change. 

Federal and state water resource management and protection agencies can encourage water 

sector utilities to establish partnerships with each other and the private sector (e.g., energy, 

agriculture) in the context of an IWRM framework (referred to as integrated water management 

in NDWAC, 2010). IWRM among water utilities and other partners can increase community 

resilience to climate change and expand opportunities for watershed-wide adaptive actions. The 

NWP in consultation with other federal water agencies, states, interstates and Tribes will 

consider how best to coordinate assistance to support IWRM. 

Water supply management and water demand management are IWRM practices to consider, 

particularly where confidence in the future reliability of water supply quality or quantity is 

diminishing (e.g., in drought prone, high growth, or coastal communities). The tools described 

below offer water sector utilities a range of methods to extend their water supplies. 

Strategic Action 5: The NWP will seek opportunities to better understand and promote 

through technical assistance the use of water supply management strategies to increase 

hydrologic, ecologic, public health and economic benefit. 

Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) — The NWP will work to foster research on ASR practices 

that do not endanger underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). ASR is a process of 

storing water underground for future use. ASR is increasingly used where fresh water demand 

is beginning or projected to exceed supply and ASR is likely to increase in drought prone areas, 

particularly those affected by climate change. When applied to stormwater, this practice can 

also reduce nonpoint source pollution of our lakes, streams and rivers. However, the infiltration 

or injection of polluted stormwater risks contamination of fresh water aquifers. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

26 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Reclamation and Reuse — The NWP will continue to encourage safe water reclamation and 

reuse. A wastewater or stormwater utility could, for example, distribute reclaimed water from a 

centralized treatment system for park irrigation or other uses, recognizing that additional 

treatment would be required for some 

applications. Onsite residential reuse of gray 

water for landscape vegetation reduces the 

volume of potable water delivered to the site 

and the volume of wastewater discharged 

from the centralized wastewater treatment 

facility. Since outdoor and non-potable 

water uses typically can account for more 

than half of all water use, this technique 

offers significant potential to preserve fresh 

water resources as well as to reduce 

treatment costs and energy use (EPA, 

2004), and can help address increased 

frequency, severity and duration of drought. 

Water Loss Control — The NWP will 

provide technical assistance to reduce water 

loss from drinking water systems, building 

upon EPA’s publication, Control and 

Mitigation of Drinking Water Losses in 

Distribution Systems (EPA, 2010d). Much of 

the estimated 880,000 miles of drinking 

water infrastructure in the United States has 

Water Reuse and Recycling: 

Examples of inter-utility IWRM in the 

Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

California 

• Orange County, California recycles 70 

million gallons per day (MGD) of sewage thru 

a $481 million treatment plant (NY Times, 

2007) as part of a Ground water 

Replenishment System (OCWD, 2008). 

• The City of Hemet, CA in the Eastern 

Municipal Water District provides recycled 

water to supply public parks and golf courses 

throughout the southland (MWDSC, 2008). 

• The Hill Canyon Water Treatment Plant 

(WTP) releases recycled water for 

agricultural irrigation under an exchange 

agreement between Calleguas MWD and 

United Water Conservation District (MWDSC, 

2008). 

• The Thousand Oaks, Tapia WTP supplies 

recycled water to two municipal water 

districts (MWDs) for municipal and 

agricultural irrigation (MWDSC, 2008). 

been in service for decades and can be a significant source of water loss. The American Water 

Works Association (AWWA) estimated in Distribution System Inventory, Integrity and Water 

Quality that there are close to 237,600 water line breaks per year in the United States leading to 

about $2.8 billion lost in yearly revenue (EPA, 2007). 

Treated water that cannot be accounted for equates to lost revenue and requires more water to 

be treated, which requires more energy and chemical use, which drives up operating costs. A 

water loss control program improves infrastructure sustainability by reducing costs and 

maintaining or increasing revenue. A report by the California Public Utilities Commission (CA, 

2011b) found after 5 years of research that repairing leaks in water distribution pipes offers the 

highest energy savings from nine water-related strategies assessed. Water loss control also 

protects public health by reducing potential distribution system entry points for pathogens (EPA, 

2010c). 

Desalination for Potable or Nonpotable Uses — Desalination to treat marine or brackish 

water is becoming increasingly important in certain locations and circumstances. Several 

coastal communities are piloting or using desalination plants to address increasing demand 

driven by population growth or drought. These practices are increasing for inland sources for 

similar reasons or where water sources have been depleted. However, desalination is energy 

intensive and there may be risks and costs associated with disposing of waste brines from the 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

27 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Figure 6. Potential Water Supply Conflicts 

treatment. The NWP will monitor research developments to understand where efforts may be 

needed to ensure that the disposal of waste brines do not endanger underground sources of 

drinking water. 

Strategic Action 6: The NWP will seek opportunities to evaluate, and provide technical
 

assistance on, the use of water demand management strategies to increase hydrologic,
 

ecologic, public health and 


economic benefits.
 

Water demand management 

reduces consumption by providing 

information, technology and 

incentives for consumers and 

industry to use less water. Water 

demand management calls for 

consumer education about the full 

cost of water services. To be 

sustainable, water utilities must be 

able to price water to reflect the 

full cost of treatment and delivery, 

as well as the cost of protecting 

water supplies. 

Metering and Metrics — The 

NWP will support the Water 

Workgroup of the ICCATF by 

working with other federal water 

agencies to develop sector 

The map shows regions in the West where water supply conflicts are specific water use efficiency likely to occur by 2025 based on a combination of factors including metrics, and the NWP will population trends and potential endangered species’ needs for water. continue seeking opportunities to The red zones are where the conflicts are most likely to occur. This 

assist water utilities in developing analysis does not factor in the effects of climate change, which is 

and deploying water metering expected to exacerbate many of these already-identified issues. 

Image credit: U.S. Global Change Research Program technologies. Measuring water (www.globalchange.gov). use enables development of 

conservation pricing as well as 

metrics for water use efficiency. Service-connection metering informs customers about how 

much water they are using, and suppliers use metering to track water use and billing. 

Water Use Efficiency & WaterSense — WaterSense is an EPA-sponsored voluntary 

partnership to protect the future of our nation's water supply by bringing together local water 

utilities and governments, product manufacturers, retailers, consumers and other stakeholders 

to decrease indoor and outdoor non-agricultural water use through more efficient products and 

practices. WaterSense helps consumers make water-efficient choices and encourages 

innovation in manufacturing by standardizing rigorous certification criteria that ensure product 

efficiency, performance and quality (EPA, 2011f). These savings at the consumer level translate 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

28 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WaterSense has helped consumers save 125 billion 

gallons of water and $2 billion in water and energy bills 

since 2006. By the end of 2010, WaterSense had 

partnered with more than 2,100 organizations and 

professionals, and more than 3,200 plumbing products 

had earned the WaterSense label. (EPA, 2011e). 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

to significant direct savings in operations and maintenance costs, and indirect savings in 

infrastructure replacement costs, for drinking water and wastewater utilities. EPA will continue to 

develop specifications 

for water efficient 

products, encourage 

water efficiency in 

building operations 

and codes, and 

educate the public on 

the value of water use efficiency through its WaterSense program. 

Water Pricing — The funding for daily operation and maintenance and long-term capital 

investments for drinking water and wastewater systems are typically generated through user 

fees. When measured as a percentage of household income, the U.S. pays less for water and 

wastewater bills than other developed countries. Because of this, there is a perception that 

water is readily available and water services are generally inexpensive. To meet our current and 

future infrastructure needs, public education on water sector system operations and costs as 

well as private water conservation is needed. 

Pricing of water services should accurately reflect the true costs of providing high-quality water 

and wastewater services to consumers in order to both operate and maintain infrastructure and 

plan for upcoming repairs, rehabilitation, and replacement of that infrastructure. Drinking water 

and wastewater utilities must be able to price water services to reflect these costs. 

There is an extensive body of knowledge on pricing water services and helping consumers learn 

about how pricing affects their community. EPA will continue to seek opportunities to work with 

our utility and state partners in identifying revenue templates that provide sufficient resources for 

infrastructure operations, maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement; and send the right 

market signals about water use. 

Strategic Action 7: The NWP will work to increase cross-sector knowledge of water supply 

climate challenges and develop watershed specific information to inform state, interstate, 

tribal and local decision making. 

State and local governments and their constituents need to understand the nature and extent of 

the water challenges they face to make decisions to address them. The NWP will work with 

federal and state science agencies and academia to develop location specific information about 

climate change impacts for different sectors in each watershed and aquifer. For example, EPA 

is participating with other federal and state water agencies and stakeholders in planning DOI’s 

National Water Census as well as its WaterSMART program to promote the efficient use of 

water (USBR, 2011). The NWP will also expand its effort to collaborate with the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers as it fosters ”collaborative relationships for a sustainable water resources 

future” (USACE, 2010a) including development of a Federal Support Toolbox to provide a 

common data portal to support IWRM (USACE, 2010b). 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

29 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

“The once seemingly separable types of aquatic 

ecosystems are, we now know, interrelated and 

interdependent. We cannot expect to preserve the 

remaining qualities of our water resources without 

providing appropriate protection for the entire resource.” 

Tennessee Senator Howard Baker on the importance 

of the Clean Water Act on the Senate floor, 1977 

“I ask that your marvelous natural resources be handed 

on unimpaired to your posterity..” 

Theodore Roosevelt, Sacramento, CA 1903 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

B. Watersheds and Wetlands 

VISION: Watersheds are protected, maintained and restored to ensure climate resilience 

and to preserve the ecological, social and economic benefits they provide; and the nation’s 

wetlands are maintained and improved using integrated approaches that recognize their 

inherent value as well as their role in reducing the impacts of climate change. 

Healthy watersheds and wetlands will be critical to climate adaptation and mitigation. This 

section addresses how EPA will ensure protection of healthy watersheds, restore impaired 

watersheds to enhance climate resiliency and preserve the important functions and ecosystem 

services provided by the nation’s wetlands especially in the face of climate change. 

Healthy watersheds and wetlands provide a host of ecological services, including water 

purification, ground water and 

surface flow regulation, wildlife 

habitat, flood and surge impact 

reduction, water temperature 

moderation, erosion control, and 

stream bank stabilization. They 

also store carbon and sequester 

other greenhouse gases. These 

ecosystems already are 

threatened with a number of 

stressors, and climate change 

will exacerbate existing water 

quality and ecosystem 

management issues. 

GOAL 3: Identify, protect, and maintain a network of healthy watersheds and supportive 

habitat corridor networks across the country that provide resilience to climate change. 

EPA, in partnership with others, is embarking on the Healthy Watersheds Initiative to expand 

our efforts to protect healthy aquatic ecosystems using a strategic systems-based approach, 

prevent them from becoming impaired, and accelerate restoration (EPA, 2011g). This Initiative 

will greatly enhance our ability to meet the full intent and extent of the CWA 101(a) objective, 

“...to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s 

waters,” and in doing so, will increase the climate resiliency of aquatic ecosystems and their 

watersheds. This goal would be difficult to achieve without working with our partners and their 

programs, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine 

Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) National Fish Habitat Action Plan, the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) 

watershed protection and restoration programs, the full suite of conservation programs 

administered by USDA, the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Water Smart Initiative, the Nature 

Conservancy’s Instream Flow and North America Freshwater Conservation Programs, the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, and others. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

30 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Integrated Water Resources Management The Healthy Watersheds approach is an 

important component of integrated water "Successful adaptation and mitigation of climate 

resource management (IWRM). IWRM offers change impacts will require a coordinated effort a more holistic approach to water quality among all levels of government, tribes, 

protection by addressing surface water and communities, nongovernmental groups, scientific 

ground water quality and quantity as one entities and the private sector - that is, Integrated 

hydrologic system. As implementation of the Water Resources Management. These voluntary 

Healthy Watersheds approach increases our partnerships will be essential to protecting and 

restoring watersheds, wetlands and coastal understanding of some of these relationships 

areas." (e.g., hydrologic requirements of aquatic  Nancy Stoner, ecosystems), that knowledge will provide Acting Assistant Administrator, building blocks for the foundation of IWRM. EPA Office of Water, 2011 

Strategic Action 8: The NWP will develop a national framework and will support state and 

tribal efforts to protect a national network of remaining healthy watersheds and aquatic 

ecosystems, including natural infrastructure for habitat corridors. 

A national framework will include indicators to assess, identify, and track healthy watersheds 

and the success of protection measures. The NWP will support state and tribal efforts to 

conduct state-wide and tribal lands integrated healthy watersheds assessments that include 

landscape condition (i.e., habitat corridor and floodplain connectivity and headwaters habitat 

intactness), hydrology, fluvial geomorphologic processes, and aquatic biology, habitat, and 

chemical condition. The NWP will also support state and tribal efforts to implement programs 

aimed at protecting and maintaining healthy, resilient watersheds and habitat. 

The NWP will work with partners to develop and pilot watershed projects and management 

practices that improve the resilience of healthy watersheds to climate change, including the 

demonstration of methods that preserve and protect natural hydrology, intact active river areas 

(TNC, 2008), aquatic habitat corridors, natural transport of sediment, and stream 

geomorphology. The NWP will work to provide technical decision support to local and regional 

planning commissions and governments for implementing programs to protect identified 

watersheds in the face of climate change, consistent with the IWRM objective of the ICCATF. 

Strategic Action 9: The NWP will collaborate with partners having authorities to give 

attention to terrestrial ecosystems and hydrology so that their effects on water quality and 

aquatic ecosystems are considered when dealing with climate change impacts. 

Among the multitude of services derived from intact forests are protection of water resources 

and sequestration of carbon. The NWP will continue collaborating with partner agencies 

(including the ICCATF Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Workgroup) to support their 

management objectives that maximize the adaptive capacity of ecosystems (e.g., through the 

protection of biodiversity, functional forest groups, keystone species, and protection against 

invasive species) resulting in reduced vulnerability to disturbance and associated impacts to 

aquatic ecosystem integrity. In particular, the NWP will actively support and promote appropriate 

forest protection efforts, afforestation (new plantings) and reforestation (replanting of deforested 

areas) of non-forest lands, and will promote and explore partnerships with working lands, land 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

31 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

retirement, and forestry programs within other Federal Agencies such as those administered by 

the US Forest Service and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service 

Agency. 

For example, to date, EPA has been working directly with US Forest Service staff in the State 

and Private Forestry program to promote the use of afforestation and reforestation as a 

component of green infrastructure, especially as it pertains to water quality protection and 

stormwater management. EPA has already co-developed a draft manual describing engineered 

approaches to afforestation and reforestation for stormwater management and has been 

working through the National Arbor Day Foundation to disseminate this information to arborists, 

local and state forestry officials, and tree planting volunteers. EPA intends to continue working 

with USFS and partners such as the National Arbor Day Foundation to support these types of 

outreach efforts and broaden them to address the backlog of one million acres of national 

forests that the Forest Service has identified as needing replanting. 

EPA has also contributed funds to USFS staff working in the Chesapeake Bay Program office in 

order to start up a Web-based forestry stewardship program targeting small landowners. A georeferenced stewardship planning tool has been developed in partnership with the Pinchot 

Institute, and is operational for three Mid-Atlantic States. The tool allows private landowners to 

enter information characterizing landownership in order to obtain information about available 

federal and state programs that encourage afforestation and reforestation while providing 

economic benefits. Efforts are underway to expand the coverage of this tool nationwide. 

Strategic Action 10: The NWP will work to integrate protection of healthy watersheds 

throughout the NWP core programs. 

Strategies that build resilience to climate change include incorporating healthy watershed 

protection priorities into states’ continuing planning process, promoting green infrastructure for 

managing stormwater, implementing the section 404 wetlands compensatory mitigation rule, 

incorporating protection of healthy watersheds into funding and technical assistance programs, 

working with tribes, and strengthening strategic partnerships throughout EPA and the federal 

government, including smart growth strategies. EPA will encourage permitting authorities to use 

stormwater permits, as appropriate, to increase watershed resilience; for example, where 

increased use of green infrastructure or reductions in impervious cover can both address water 

quality issues and increase resilience to climate change. EPA will work with states to use the 

continuing planning process to develop and implement healthy watershed protection and 

restoration priorities. 

Strategic Action 11: Increase public awareness of the role and importance of healthy 

watersheds in reducing the adverse impacts of climate change. 

The critical ecological services watersheds and wetlands provide often go unrecognized by the 

public. Raising public awareness of the importance of protecting healthy watersheds will ensure 

that there is public support for actions needed to sustain these resources in the face of climate 

change. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

32 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

The NWP will develop and implement public outreach programs emphasizing the importance of 

healthy watersheds, including the economic benefits of protecting and restoring watersheds, 

wetlands, floodplains, and riparian areas. The climate-induced risks to aquatic ecosystems, and 

the associated need to enable ecosystem migration, will be further articulated to build support 

for action. (See for example EPA, 2011h.) 

GOAL 4: Incorporate climate resilience into watershed restoration and floodplain 

management. 

Watershed restoration and a watershed approach to floodplain management focus on reestablishing the composition, structure, pattern, and ecological processes of degraded or 

altered aquatic ecosystems necessary to make them sustainable, resilient, and healthy under 

current and future conditions. Incorporating climate change factors into planning efforts will be 

needed to ensure that watershed strategies are successful over the long term. 

Strategic Action 12: The NWP will consider a means of accounting for climate change in 

EPA funded watershed restoration projects and encourage others funding restoration 

projects to take climate change and resiliency into consideration. 

In partnership with other federal, state, interstate and local water sector actors, the NWP will 

clarify and encourage implementation of existing investment flexibilities to support investments 

in climate resiliency in watershed restoration approaches, source water protection, green 

infrastructure, and joint partnerships, consistent with authorizing legislation. 

Strategic Action 13: The NWP will work with federal, state, tribal, and local partners to 

protect and enhance buffers to rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands and coastal resources as a 

means of building resiliency and protecting water quality. 

Buffer areas provide for flood attenuation, allow potential shoreline and lateral stream 

movement, modulate water level fluctuations, and minimize impacts on infrastructure. The NWP 

will work with partners to enhance the use of buffers to build resilience. The NWP will also 

promote and support the use of non-structural, green infrastructure approaches to floodplain 

management, and discourage the use of structural measures (e.g., stream channelization and 

levees), where appropriate. 

GOAL 5: Watershed protection practices incorporate source water protection, and vice 

versa, to protect and preserve drinking water supplies from the effects of climate change. 

Protecting public health from contaminants in drinking water will require adapting to the impacts 

of climate change which poses multiple concerns for public water systems. Warmer waters 

foster pathogen growth, testing the reliability of drinking water disinfection. Increased 

precipitation may result in additional pollutant loadings of nutrients, pesticides, and other 

chemicals, further challenging drinking water treatment. Sea level rise in coastal areas puts 

fresh water supplies for all uses, particularly drinking water, at increasing risk. Salt water 

intrusion into coastal aquifers is a problem in some areas where withdrawals are outstripping 

recharge; increased pressure head from a higher sea-level worsens this problem. As sea level 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

33 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

rises, community drinking water intakes may end up in brackish waters as the salt front migrates 

up coastal rivers and streams. 

Strategic Action 14: The NWP will encourage states to consider updating their source 

water delineations, assessments or protection plans to address anticipated climate change 

impacts. 

NWP program staff will continue working to assure that states include protecting and preserving 

drinking water supplies (ground water and surface water) in watershed planning and protection 

programs. States should consider the feasibility and value of periodically updating their source 

water protection areas and protection plans in concert with state watershed plan updates to 

address anticipated climate change impacts. EPA and its federal partners will, explore 

opportunities for providing technical assistance to states as they update their source water 

delineations, assessments and protection plans to address anticipated climate change impacts. 

Strategic Action 15: The NWP will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to increase 

state and local awareness of source water protection needs and opportunities and 

encourage inclusion of source water protection areas in local climate change adaptation 

initiatives. 

There are many players who influence the effectiveness of source water protection at the 

national, state, interstate, tribal and local levels such as water science and regulatory agencies, 

water sector utility operators, local decision makers and stakeholders. Acting individually they 

may affect aspects of source water protection and preservation but collaborating on the same 

watersheds and aquifers increases the potential to protect and preserve those resources. The 

NWP will work to foster increased collaboration to develop decision support tools to inform 

deliberations at the local and watershed or aquifer scale. 

GOAL 6: EPA incorporates climate change considerations into the CWA 404 regulatory 

program as they relate to permit reviews and compensatory mitigation. 

Since 1989, the Federal government as a whole has embraced a policy goal of no net loss of 

wetlands under the CWA Section 404 regulatory program. In addition, the program operates 

under a goal of a net increase in the quality and quantity of the nation’s wetlands. EPA’s 

Wetlands Program fosters effective wetlands management through strategic partnerships with 

States, Tribes, local governments, and other partners. Key to accomplishing these goals and 

actions is a watershed approach to aquatic resource protection. 

Section 404 of the CWA establishes a program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill 

material into waters of the U.S., including wetlands. Activities in waters of the U.S. typically 

regulated under this program include fill for development, water resource projects (e.g., dams 

and levees), infrastructure development (e.g., highways and airports) and mining projects. 

Section 404 requires either a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) or an 

EPA-approved state program before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of 

the U.S. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

34 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

One basic requirement of the CWA Section 404 permitting program, as implemented by 

404(b)(1) Guidelines, is that no discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands may be 

permitted if a practicable alternative exists that is less damaging to the aquatic environment or if 

the nation’s waters would be significantly degraded. Significant degradation is broadly defined in 

the 404(b)(1) Guidelines to include individual or cumulative impacts to human health and 

welfare; fish and wildlife; ecosystem diversity, productivity and stability; and recreational, 

aesthetic or economic values. 

Strategic Action 16: The NWP will consider the effects of climate change as appropriate 

when making significant degradation determinations in the CWA Section 404 Wetlands 

Permitting and Enforcement Programs. 

In light of the growing concerns regarding the adverse effects of climate change and the 

recognition that protecting the Nation’s wetlands and other aquatic resources can help to 

mitigate these effects, EPA will coordinate with USACE to better understand how climate 

change may impact Section 404 sites and if/how the systematic consideration of climate change 

impacts could be incorporated into decision processes (including minimization and 

compensatory mitigation practices) in a scientifically defensible way. EPA’s Section 404 permit 

review process also includes determining if there would be a “substantial and unacceptable” 

impact to Aquatic Resources of National Importance (ARNI), as provided in Part IV of the 1992 

CWA Section 404(q) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between EPA and the Department of 

the Army, often called the elevation procedures. Criteria used for identifying an ARNI could 

potentially consider the chemical, physical, and biological importance, in light of climate change, 

of an aquatic resource proposed to be impacted. In partnership with USACE, he NWP will also 

consider how to incorporate the anticipated effects of climate change as appropriate when 

determining whether impacts are “unacceptable” (e.g., where discharges would result in harm to 

wetlands critical to storm surge reduction). 

Strategic Action 17: The NWP will evaluate, in conjunction with relevant Federal Agencies 

when applicable, including USDA, USFWS, and the USACE, how wetland and stream 

compensation projects could be selected, designed, and sited to aid in reducing the effects 

of climate change. 

Consistent with established regulatory policy, impacts must be compensated for “to the extent 

appropriate and practicable” after they are avoided and minimized to the greatest extent 

practicable. As an example, in order to offset permitted impacts, the Corps typically requires 

between 40,000–50,000 acres of compensatory mitigation annually. This compensation takes 

the form of restored, created, enhanced and/or preserved complexes of wetlands and streams. 

EPA, in conjunction with the Corps, will consider how these wetland and stream compensation 

projects could be selected, designed and sited to aid in reducing the impacts of climate change 

with a focus on analyzing climate change and associated relative sea level change for coastal 

mitigation projects. For example, certain types of wetlands mitigation projects might be 

encouraged in the future because of their scientifically assessed relative carbon sequestration 

benefits or because siting mitigation projects in coastal zones would facilitate wetland migration 

as sea level rises while also enhancing the natural lines of defense (“resilience”) of the coastline 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

35 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

and community, and creating public green space which enhances the livability and sense of 

place of the community. 

GOAL 7: EPA improves baseline information on wetland extent, condition and 

performance to inform effective adaptation to climate change. 

Baseline information on the location, extent and quality of wetlands and aquatic resources will 

help to measure changes caused by climate change and other stressors. Ongoing monitoring 

will inform the development of predictive models and management strategies including for 

climate change adaptation. 

Strategic Action 18: The NWP will expand wetland mapping by supporting wetland 

mapping coalitions and training on use of the new Federal Wetland Mapping Standard. 

While agency conclusions should be “Wetlands are inextricably tied to water levels, 

informed by detailed, accurate data and changes in climatic conditions affecting water 

availability will greatly influence the nature and sources, the existing National Wetland function of specific wetlands, including the type of Inventory (NWI) mapping, managed by plant and animal species within them.” the USFWS, is a good initial guide about  Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, potential wetlands in an area/watershed announcing availability of the 

and is used extensively, including to new wetland mapping standard. 

address the effects of climate change August 18, 2009 

(e.g., modeling relative sea level rise). 

The NWI maps were innovative when first produced, but additional work is now needed to 

update these maps to make them current and to better satisfy the demands for sophisticated 

analysis that supports effective environmental planning. Hardcopy maps are available for 

approximately 4/5 of the Nation, and approximately half of the NWI is available online for use in 

geographic information system (GIS) applications. However, a significant portion of the arid 

West has not yet been mapped. 

The modernized Wetlands Mapping Standard was developed by the interagency Federal 

Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), in collaboration with representatives of federal agencies, 

states, tribes, environmental organizations, management associations, as well as local 

government associations from both the wetlands and geospatial communities. The Wetland 

Mapping Standard was developed to improve and standardize mapping data quality in order to 

accelerate the rate at which the national wetlands mapping is completed and to enable real-time 

updates of the national wetlands data layer in the future. Using the new Standard, other groups, 

such as states, tribes, local governments, and non-governmental organizations, are able to 

collect and upload digitally mapped data to the NWI. EPA and other federal agencies will train 

and support a range of organizations to complete the national map. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

36 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Strategic Action 19: The NWP will produce a statistically valid, ecological condition 

assessment of the nation’s wetlands. 

The National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) will be an integrated gauge of wetland 

condition nationwide, summarizing the cumulative effects of federal, state, tribal, and local 

government and private-party actions that either degrade wetlands or protect and restore their 

ecological condition. The NWCA will be repeated at the national scale every five years, and will 

incorporate those indicators that 

EPA identifies as most Figure 7. National Wetland Condition Assessment Site Locations 

meaningful to detecting and 

predicting the impacts of climate 

change on the condition of the 

nation’s wetlands. 

EPA worked closely with the 

USFWS Wetlands Status and 

Trends program to utilize their 

network of analysis plots as the 

sampling frame for the NWCA. 

When these efforts are paired, 

we will for the first time be able 

to measure progress toward the 

national goal to increase the 

quantity and quality of the 

nation’s wetlands (Figure 7). 

Wetland quality or condition speaks to how wetlands differ from their “natural” state, providing 

an assessment of the overall ecological integrity of the resource and the relative status of 

wetland processes, such as the ability of a wetland to absorb nutrients. In addition, the NWCA 

will identify the stressors most associated with degraded wetland condition because they 

provide insights into the causes of declining wetland quality. 

C. Coastal and Ocean Waters 

VISION: Adverse effects of climate change along with collective stressors and unintended 

adverse consequences of responses to climate change have been successfully prevented 

or reduced in the ocean and coastal environment. Federal, tribal, state, and local 

agencies, organizations, and institutions are working cooperatively; and information 

necessary to integrate climate change considerations into ocean and coastal management 

is produced, readily available, and used. 

Coastal and ocean environments are inextricably linked, both spatially and ecologically. This 

section borrows the concept of the “baseline” (a legal demarcation of ordinary low tide levels 

that also crosses river mouths, the opening of bays, and along the outer points of complex 

coastlines) to facilitate the discussion of strategies that may be more applicable to coastal 

environments (which we loosely define as being on the landward side of the baseline) or ocean 

environments (seaward of the baseline). The baseline may affect climate change strategies 

Approx. 1,000 randomly selected wetland sites sampled in 2011. 

National Wetland Condition Assessment, EPA, 2011n. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

37 |Visions & Goals 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

38 |Visions & Goals

because of its jurisdictional implications. However, although the terms “coastal” and “ocean” are 

used primarily to organize this discussion, we recognize that those domains grade into each 

other and that some strategies may be appropriate on both sides of the baseline.

As in other regions, coastal areas will face challenges to wetlands, watersheds, infrastructure, 

water quality, and drinking water. Some coastal problems, such as nonpoint source pollution 

and changing precipitation patterns, have the same causes and effects that are found in inland 

places. 

However, the ocean and coasts 

will experience unique impacts 

that the rest of the United States 

will not. Sea level rise is already 

a multi-faceted problem that is 

worsening (Figure 8). Coastal 

wetlands and other estuarine 

habitats are being inundated or 

eroded, and many will not be 

able to sustain themselves as

sea levels continue to rise. The 

potential for ocean acidification 

to damage the marine food 

chain, shellfish, and coral is 

another issue unique to the 

coastal and ocean environment.

Coastal regions will also 

experience saltwater intrusion into ground water aquifers, the threats of rising seas to drinking 

water and wastewater infrastructure, and the effects of varying stream flow on estuarine salinity 

and ecology. 

Scientific research over the last 10 years indicates that the implications of ocean acidification 

(OA) for ocean and coastal marine ecosystems are potentially very serious since the ocean has 

a large capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, and that the resulting lowered pH levels in 

ocean waters can have serious cascading effects. In its 2010 report, “Ocean Acidification: A 

National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean,” the National Research Council 

(NRC, 2010f) concludes that ocean chemistry is changing at an unprecedented rate and 

magnitude due to human-made CO2 emissions, and that there will be “ecological winners and 

losers.” The report also states that “while the ultimate consequences are still unknown, there is 

a risk of ecosystem changes that threaten coral reefs, fisheries, protected species, and other 

natural resources of value to society”. 

Climate change impacts will in some respects be one more stressor that EPA’s partners and 

programs will try to absorb or accommodate into their practices and portfolios. It will be 

important for EPA and the NWP to avert or resolve as many of the foreseeable climate 

adaptation problems as possible, while also preventing harm from responses to climate change

that inadvertently increase vulnerability rather than reducing it. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

However, in some parts of the country, such as parts of the Pacific Northwest, sea level rise is 

negated by coastal uplift. Such relative sea level decreases can offset absolute sea level rise 

and present benefits that enhance wetland preservation in coastal zones. 

How others respond to the inevitable climate change impacts on coastal and ocean waters will 

have a large impact on EPA’s ability to achieve or fulfill its mission. EPA will have to cooperate 

with other interested parties and work to enhance the adaptive capacity of our partners to 

effectively meet the coming 21st 

century environmental tests. We Integrated Water Resources Management 

will need to work in close concert 

As changing climates affect the decisions of dam with local, state, tribal, and managers, coastal issues will be one more consideration. regional organizations and other Managers are already balancing competing demands for 

federal partners through the wide ecological functions, water supply in reservoirs, water 

range of existing programs and supply for downstream users, and power generation. 

Flows passing downstream have an effect on sediment partnerships like the National 

delivery to coastal systems, the salinity structure of Estuary Program (NEP), Large coastal estuaries, and how far upstream the salt front can Aquatic Ecosystems (LAE), Great push. 

Waterbodies, and regional ocean The management of coastal waters will need an IWRM groups. Working cooperatively perspective. The diversion of fresh surface water to 

with Canada and Mexico will also recharge coastal aquifers is one issue. Where 

be critical if we are to be desalination is implemented to provide fresh water, 

discharging or disposing of residual brines will also need successful in near ocean 

attention. environments. 

GOAL 8: The NWP works collaboratively with partners to ensure that the information and 

methodologies necessary to address climate change in ocean and coastal areas are 

collected or produced, analyzed or formatted, promoted, and easily available. 

Protecting coastal and ocean environments from the impacts of climate change will require 

policy makers and managers to be informed to make effective decisions. As the problems of 

climate change emerge and multiply, the need for knowledge will become even more pressing. 

Further, the NWP and our partners will need to know where to find the necessary information 

and tools. Agencies cannot afford to duplicate efforts, and will need to work together to improve 

efficiency and leverage limited resources. 

Strategic Action 20: To protect ocean and coastal areas, the NWP will collaborate within 

EPA and with other federal, tribal, and state agencies to ensure that synergy occurs 

whenever possible, that lessons learned are transferred, that federal efforts effectively 

help local communities and that they are not duplicative or working at cross-purposes. 

Ensuring that lessons learned are transferred between the many partner federal agencies will 

maximize the utility and accessibility of new information and methodologies needed by tribal, 

state, and local communities to effectively prepare for climate change impacts. 

Some federal agencies have already formalized cooperative mechanisms through written 

agreements. For example, EPA and the NOAA have signed a Memorandum of Agreement 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

39 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

(MOA) to work together on climate adaptation, resilience, and smart growth efforts. In the New 

England region, a “Statement of Common Purpose” exists between federal agencies working 

together on climate change adaptation and mitigation, and coastal and marine spatial planning. 

Similar agreements to coordinate with other federal agencies in the coastal zone would also be 

helpful, such as many DOI agencies (e.g., USGS, National Park Service (NPS), USFWS, and 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMR)), as well as 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), USACE, Department of Transportation 

(DOT), and the Department of Agriculture (among others). 

Strategic Action 21: The NWP will work within EPA and with the U.S. Global Change 

Research Program and other federal, tribal, and state agencies to be sure that knowledge 

and information needed to protect ocean and coastal areas is collected or produced, 

analyzed or formatted for users, and easily available. 

The NWP will work within EPA, with the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), 

and with other federal, tribal, and state agencies to make sure this knowledge and information is 

produced to inform decision making, and EPA’s Large Aquatic Ecosystem Programs that it is made available in user-friendly 

formats through compendiums, web  Chesapeake Bay Program 

sites, and clearinghouses. Information  Columbia River Basin 

needed that is specific to coastal and  Great Lakes 

ocean planning includes:  Gulf of Mexico Program 

 Lake Champlain Basin Program  Projections of relative sea level 

change at finer scales, including  Long Island Sound Study 

Light Detection and Ranging  Pacific Islands Office 

(LIDAR) land elevations;  Puget Sound - Georgia Basin 

 Information on ocean acidification  San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary 

 South Florida Geographic Initiative and warming; 

 Monitoring of environmental effects and system thresholds specific to the coastal and 

marine environments; and 

 Improvements in the ability to quantify real reductions of CO2 due to salt marsh and coastal 

restoration. 

EPA will continue to share similar information through portals such as ocean.data.gov and 

federal climate clearinghouses such as the one under development by the USGCRP. 

GOAL 9: Support and build networks of local, tribal, state, regional and federal 

collaborators that are knowledgeable about climate change effects and take effective 

adaptation measures for coastal and ocean environments through EPA’s geographically 

targeted programs. 

A primary role of the federal government will be to work within our existing networks to build 

adaptive capacity at the regional, state, tribal, and local levels. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

40 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Strategic Action 22: The NWP will work with the NWP’s larger geographic programs to 

incorporate climate change considerations focusing on both the natural and built 

environments. 

Geographically-based programs in which EPA participates include ten Large Aquatic 

Ecosystems (LAEs), Regional Ocean Partnerships, and regional planning bodies established 

under the NOC. The NWP will work to ensure that these key geographic programs have the 

tools necessary to consider climate change effects in their plans and programs. EPA regional 

and geographic program offices and the Council of LAEs will all play key roles addressing 

climate change impacts to both the natural and built environments when making policies or 

decisions, and will work to ensure that best practices and lessons-learned from local projects 

are widely shared. 

The NWP will continue working with Regional Ocean Partnerships that undertake planning for 

resiliency. According to the Coastal States Organization’s web site, “[t]here is an ever-growing 

recognition that multi-state, regional Regional Ocean and Great Lakes Partnerships approaches are one of the most 

effective and efficient ways to  Great Lakes Regional Collaboration 

address many of our ocean and  Governors’ South Atlantic Alliance 

coastal management challenges. To  Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) 

meet these challenges, governors  Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean 

around the country have voluntarily (MARCO) 

established Regional Ocean  Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) 

Partnerships and are working in  West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean 

collaboration with federal agencies, Health 

tribes, local governments, and 

stakeholders to identify shared priorities and coordinate ocean and coastal management on a 

regional basis. While each partnership is unique in terms of its region's issues and concerns, 

they all share a desire for more effective management of ocean and coastal resources. This 

includes balancing ecological and economic needs, and addressing climate change, through 

such approaches as ecosystem based management, and coastal and marine spatial planning.” 

[CSO, 2011] 

The NWP will also collaborate with the National Ocean Council’s Regional Planning Bodies 

established under the National Ocean Policy’s framework for effective coastal and marine 

spatial planning (CMSP) (see Executive Order 13547, Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, 

and the Great Lakes). The regional planning bodies will implement the framework for CMSP, 

leading to the eventual development of regional coastal and marine spatial plans (CMS Plans) 

which will guide and inform agency decision-making under existing statutory authority. The 

NWP will inform the CMSP process and the development of CMS Plans to implement two 

Priority Objectives: (1) Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) (which is driven in some 

areas by the demand for offshore renewable energy development), and (2) Resiliency and 

Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

41 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Strategic Action 23: Address climate change adaptation and build stakeholder capacity 

when implementing NEP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans and 

through the Climate Ready Estuaries Program. Each Program will build its stakeholders’ 

adaptive capacity through funding, technical assistance, and coordination. 

The 28 NEPs around the country improve 

the quality of estuaries of national 

significance through community-based 

programs. NEPs are strategically 

positioned to build the adaptive capacity of 

stakeholders because they work directly 

with and within communities. In fact, many 

of the NEPs have specific goals in their 

Comprehensive Conservation and 

Management Plans (CCMPs) addressing 

climate change adaptation. 

The Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) 

program, which is jointly administered by 

EPA’s OW and Office of Air and Radiation, 

provides funding or direct technical 

assistance to help NEPs complete climate change vulnerability assessments and to build their 

adaptive capacity to respond to climate change. CRE will continue to expand its information and 

guidance offerings and to develop and share the lessons learned from its sponsored projects. 

Incorporating CRE tools and methods into the NEP base programs by mainstreaming climate 

change adaptation into planning documents (e.g., CCMP or annual work plans) will ensure that 

climate change is considered by all NEPs, and will help to prepare communities to respond to 

climate change impacts. Many other organizations also manage coastal and ocean resources in 

or near NEP watersheds, so CRE will work collaboratively with other EPA programs (e.g., 

CRWU), federal agencies (e.g., NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserves and Sea Grant 

and USDA’s conservation planning activities), land trusts, and other non-profit coastal 

organizations to build mutually supportive networks. 

Strategic Action 24: The NWP will conduct outreach and education, and provide technical 

assistance to state and local watershed organizations and communities to build adaptive 

capacity in coastal areas outside the NEP and LAE programs. 

All coastal areas, including regions outside NEP and LAE watersheds, need to build their 

adaptive capacity to reduce adverse effects of climate change. The NWP can support the work 

of states and local watershed organizations by providing technical assistance or educational 

support that leverages the work of EPA’s CRE and other geographic programs and 

partnerships. Communication will also help minimize the selection of responses to climate 

change that may work at cross-purposes, or have unintended adverse consequences. 

Figure 9: NEP Study Areas 

http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/index.cfm 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

42 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

GOAL 10: The NWP addresses climate driven environmental changes in coastal areas and 

ensures that mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change are conducted in an 

environmentally responsible manner. 

Impacts of climate change have greater consequences in coastal areas because so much of the 

country’s population and economic infrastructure are located in those areas. Coastal areas will 

see greater demand for storm protection and erosion control. Strategies are needed to protect 

and enhance the natural environment while working toward a sustainable built environment that 

is prepared for climate impacts. 

Coastal waters have the same potential problems with invasive species and water quality that 

all waters and watersheds have, in addition to marine-specific challenges such as ballast water 

discharges from commercial shipping. Changing precipitation patterns will affect runoff, nonpoint 

source pollution, and combined sewer systems and warmer waters may foster increases in algal 

blooms and hypoxic conditions, decreasing the quality of waters for recreational uses such as 

swimming and other water sports that are extremely important in coastal areas. Warmer water 

will also likely worsen the already increasing occurrences of harmful algal blooms and other 

aspects of water quality, including the expansion in the range of many invasive species already 

present in US waters such as zebra mussels. Increasing temperatures in water bodies such as 

Lake Superior may allow organisms that have established in the other four Great Lakes to more 

easily establish in Superior's waters. Water bodies that were previously not receptive to invasion 

by many transoceanic invaders may become more habitable to those organisms. 

Coastal wetlands, like all wetlands, are dependent on suitable hydrologic conditions. Climate 

change will severely challenge the resilience of coastal wetlands. Altered salinity from sea level 

rise and changing hydrometeorology will threaten coastal ecology. Geologic history and 

geomorphic research suggest that coastal wetlands will have a very hard time surviving at 

accelerated rates of sea level rise. Where salt marshes have limited sediment supplies, they will 

probably not be able to accrete enough material to stay above rising water level. As the 

intertidal zone shifts upward and landward the area that can sustain salt marshes will shrink—in 

places where topography, coastal development, or insular layout prevents ecosystem shifts, 

marshes may disappear entirely. Some salt marshes may be able to become established upstream as the salinity changes; however they are likely to replace freshwater tidal marshes, not 

to establish new wetland habitats. Both freshwater and salt marshes also are subject to 

changing temperature and precipitation that may affect the ability of existing species to continue 

to thrive. 

Sea grasses are another very important aquatic resource that is vulnerable to climate change. 

Sea grass beds serve as critical habitat for juvenile life stages of many marine species. Most 

sea grass species live in a narrow strip of shallow coastal water and are extremely sensitive to 

changes in water clarity that control how much sunlight they receive. Warmer water, increased 

water depth, and turbidity from soil erosion caused by extreme precipitation and other storm 

events can all reduce water clarity and adversely impact the survival of sea grasses. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

43 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Strategic Action 25: The NWP will work collaboratively to support coastal wastewater, 

stormwater and drinking water infrastructure owners and operators in reducing climate 

risks and will encourage adaptation in coastal areas. 

Impacts of climate change will threaten all types of coastal infrastructure, but the water sector is 

particularly at risk. Sea level rise and coastal subsidence, storms and storm surge, flooding and 

coastal erosion, salt water intrusion into coastal aquifers, and increasing water temperatures all 

threaten wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities, conveyance systems, and utility 

operations. 

Figure 10. Infrastructure Risk from Sea level Rise 

Image credit: U.S. Global Change Research Program (www.globalchange.gov). 

EPA’s CRWU and CRE programs will continue working together to provide coastal managers 

and infrastructure operators with planning support and technical assistance to help reduce 

climate risks and encourage adaptation. The NWP will also consider new approaches for 

ensuring that financial assistance to the water sector is used in ways that increase resiliency, 

reduce vulnerability, and avoid adverse unintended consequences. 

Strategic Action 26: The NWP will work collaboratively to support climate readiness of 

coastal communities, including hazard mitigation, pre-disaster planning, preparedness, 

and recovery efforts. 

Climate change impacts such as sea level rise and increased storm intensity will exacerbate 

existing coastal hazards. Flooding, wind, waves, and storm surge that damage coastal 

communities can directly affect water quality, as well as damage water infrastructure. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

44 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

To avoid such problems and minimize the need for emergency response, the NWP will work 

within EPA and with other federal, tribal, and state agencies to provide technical assistance to 

coastal communities for hazard mitigation, and pre-disaster planning. After a disaster, recovery 

and rebuilding efforts should avoid choices that 

reproduce previous vulnerabilities. EPA’s CRWU, Stormsmartcoasts.org... 

CRE, and Sustainable Communities programs 

will ...was established by the Gulf of Mexico collaborate to provide local communities with Governor's Alliance with startup funding planning tools to improve resiliency to natural from NOAA and a 3-year EPA grant to hazards as well as to bring other economic, expand it. Smartcoasts provides a platform 

environmental, and quality of life benefits. FEMA for the open exchange of information 

is a critical federal partner; in 2010, EPA and between states, communities, counties and 

others. A Community of Practice for FEMA signed a MOA that will make it easier for Climate Change includes 100 members the two agencies to collaborate to help across the Gulf region from Sea Grant communities recover from disasters and better programs, NOAA, EPA, FEMA, the five Gulf 

plan for future resilience, including for climate of Mexico states, counties, parishes, 

change adaptation (EPA, 2011i). The NWP also communities, and universities. 

will coordinate with NOAA’s Storm Smart Coasts 

program to maximize efficiencies in delivering tools and other information to local communities. 

These programs will assist with vulnerability analyses, and help to develop and implement 

hazard mitigation strategies. 

Local projects supported by EPA grants may be affected by climate change impacts. EPA will 

provide advice on how funding recipients can include an assessment of adaptation and 

mitigation measures in their planning for federally funded projects. 

Strategic Action 27: The NWP will support preparation and response planning for a diverse 

array of impacts to coastal aquatic environments. 

Coastal upland, wetland, and aquatic ecosystems and resources have evolved over centuries 

and millennia. They are stressed by human uses and human activities, invasive species, and 

now face further stress from a full range of climate change impacts, including threats such as 

sea level rise that are unique to coastal areas. 

NWP base programs and initiatives will need to be cognizant of threats to coastal water quality. 

While extensive expertise in restoration planning resides within EPA and at other agencies and 

organizations, there is a need for decision support tools to help answer challenging questions 

about whether restoration is viable or whether alternative strategies should be pursued in 

certain places. Protecting water quality and aquatic habitats such as sea grass beds may 

require innovative actions like ensuring that the volume and quality of freshwater inflows into 

estuaries are maintained. In the context of coastal change and sea level rise, decisions must be 

made about whether some environmental restoration efforts, particularly for coastal marshes, 

are realistic or practical. 

The NWP will utilize existing partnerships and networks such as the Interagency Coastal 

Wetlands Workgroup, Coastal America, the National Dredging Team, and other interagency 

planning groups, to promote the consideration of sea level change and other climate change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

45 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

impacts in coastal habitat restoration planning. The National and Regional Dredging Teams will 

work to promote the beneficial use of suitable dredged material for maintaining and restoring 

coastal marshes and other habitats. 

In addition, “Blue Carbon” is an emerging concept that refers to the ability of aquatic 

ecosystems to sequester CO2. Should emissions trading practices take hold that include Blue 

Carbon, the use of external funding from private CO2 emissions offsets might become a useful 

strategy for funding restoration or creation of sustainable coastal habitats. Care should be 

taken, however, to ensure other ecosystem services don’t suffer if some aquatic environments 

are managed strictly for their ability to sequester CO2. 

The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. 

Now, as never before, the old phrase has a 

literal meaning: We are all in the same boat. 

— Jacques Cousteau 

GOAL 11: Protect ocean environments by incorporating shifting environmental conditions 

and other emerging threats into EPA programs. 

Protecting the ocean environment from adverse impacts of climate change is critical to human 

well-being because the ocean provides food, regulates our weather, and offers numerous 

opportunities for renewable energy, among many other benefits. Society will also be tempted to 

look to the oceans for seemingly simple solutions. We must ensure that strategies to reduce 

carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere do not impose long-term costs on ocean waters, and 

that the many uses of marine spaces are responsibly balanced. 

Strategic Action 28: The NWP will consider climate change impacts and associated 

impacts (e.g., ocean acidification, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution) on marine water 

quality in its ocean management authorities, policies, and programs. 

Climate change impacts to the ocean environment, including temperature increases, increased 

pollutant runoff, hazardous algal blooms, as well as increases in ocean/coastal acidity, 

hazardous algal blooms, and spread of invasive species, add pressure to already stressed 

systems. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

46 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

The National Coastal Conditions Report that describes the ecological and environmental 

conditions in U.S. coastal waters will incorporate climate change impacts into its evaluation. 

EPA issued a 

Memorandum (EPA, 

2010e) that recognized 

the seriousness of 

aquatic life impacts 

associated with ocean 

acidification, and 

described how States 

can move forward, 

where ocean 

acidification information 

exists, to address it 

during the CWA 303(d) 

listing cycle using the 

current 303(d) Integrated 

Reporting (IR) 

framework. Additional 

guidance may be 

necessary as improved 

monitoring and 

assessment information 

becomes available. If 

Figure 11. Observed northward shift of marine species in the Bering Sea 

between the years 1982 and 2006. 

The average shift among the species examined was approximately 19 miles 

north of its 1982 location (red line) (NRC, 2010c). 

other climate change impacts on ocean environments substantially affect water quality, such as 

dissolved oxygen and temperature, then the NWP will respond to them as well (USGCRP, 

2008). 

Strategic Action 29: The NWP will utilize available authorities and will work with existing 

regional ocean governance structures and federal and state agencies and other networks 

to ensure offshore renewable energy production does not adversely affect the marine 

environment. 

Federal and state agencies are exploring offshore renewable energy production as a means to 

reduce the production of GHGs and increase energy independence. The NWP must ensure that 

the installation of renewable energy infrastructure (e.g., offshore wind turbines or wave energy 

systems, transmission cables, and shore-based facilities) is conducted in an environmentally 

responsible manner that does not result in unintended adverse consequences. 

Authorities available to the NWP include the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA). 

It will be particularly important to partner with and engage Regional Ocean Partnerships and 

EPA’s geographic programs (e.g., Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, Gulf of Mexico, NEPs), 

as well as other federal agencies, states, and tribes, and to participate in Coastal and Marine 

Spatial Planning (CMSP). CMSP is a comprehensive, adaptive, integrated, ecosystem-based, 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

47 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

and transparent spatial planning process, based on sound science, to determine how the ocean, 

coasts, and Great Lakes should be sustainably used and protected now and for future 

generations. Various sections of the CWA may apply to offshore energy facilities. 

Strategic Action 30: The NWP will support the evaluation of sub-seabed and ocean 

sequestration of CO2. 

EPA will work with other agencies and the international community to provide technical 

assistance on sub-seabed carbon sequestration and coordinate with federal partners in 

addressing proposals for carbon sequestration in the sub-seabed or other proposals such as 

potential fertilization of the ocean, including any permitting under the MPRSA or the 

underground injection control (UIC) program that may be required. 

Carbon dioxide sequestration in sub-seabed geological formations, for example, involves 

separation of carbon dioxide from industrial and energy-related sources, transport to and 

injection into an offshore geological formation, and long-term isolation from the atmosphere. The 

NWP will need to ensure that the new technologies are responsibly deployed to protect the 

marine environment and to avoid risks to coastal populations and habitats. 

Strategic Action 31: The NWP will participate in the interagency development and 

implementation of federal strategies through the National Ocean Council Strategic Action 

Plans and the ICCATF. 

Many federal agencies manage or use coastal and ocean resources to support commerce, 

maintain national security, and ensure environmental sustainability. It is imperative that the 

NWP participate in development and implementation of federal strategies to ensure that coastal 

and ocean environments are protected and are prepared for climate change adaptation and 

mitigation, especially through the NOC. The National Ocean Policy identifies nine priority 

objectives, including to “strengthen resiliency of coastal communities and marine and Great 

Lakes environments and their abilities to adapt to climate change impacts and ocean 

acidification” and “increase knowledge to continually inform and improve management and 

policy decisions and the capacity to respond to change and challenges.” The NOC is developing 

a strategic action plan for this objective that will also serve as the National Action Plan (NAP) for 

Oceans and Coasts under the ICCATF. The NWP will continue to participate in writing and 

implementing this strategic action plan. 

D. Water Quality 

VISION: Our Nation’s surface water, drinking water, and ground water quality are 

protected, and the risks of climate change to human health and the environment are 

diminished, through a variety of adaptation and mitigation strategies. 

This chapter focuses on the NWP’s response to climate change impacts on water quality, using 

both regulatory and non-regulatory controls. Regulatory controls include water quality standards 

(WQS), Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 

System (NPDES), as well as drinking water regulations such as the UIC program. Non­

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

48 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

regulatory controls include promotion of Green Infrastructure (GI) and low impact development 

(LID) strategies, and other collaborative approaches. (Larger landscape strategies are covered 

in the Watersheds and Wetlands chapter). This chapter also includes strategies for maintaining 

water quality while encouraging the adoption of alternative sources of energy and fuel 

technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

GOAL 12: The NWP protects waters of the United States and promotes management of 

sustainable surface water resources under changing climate conditions. 

As detailed in the 2008 Strategy, climate change is expected to impact surface waters in several 

ways, affecting both human health and ecological endpoints. For example, it is projected that 

warmer air temperatures in many locations will heat surface water temperatures to levels that 

will decrease the water’s ability to hold dissolved oxygen, leading to growth of harmful algal 

blooms and hypoxia. Warmer air temperatures may also lead to more evaporation, which could 

cause lower flows and higher salinity, as well as higher concentrations of other substances. 

Lower flows and greater salinity would likely cause an increase in impaired waters, even if 

actual pollutant loadings from dischargers do not increase. In many parts of the country, 

precipitation events are expected to become more extreme, increasing runoff with associated 

increases in pollutant loads, increasing variability of stream flow and associated sedimentation, 

and expanding flood risk. 

Strategic Action 32: The NWP will encourage states and communities to incorporate 

climate change considerations into their water quality planning. 

Sensitivity to impacts combined with adaptive capacity is a measure of vulnerability, and 

understanding vulnerability is necessary as the basis for adaptation planning. That is, the extent 

of climate change impacts upon different ecosystems, regions, and sectors will depend not only 

on their sensitivity to climate change, but also on their adaptive capacity or resiliency. In order to 

facilitate adaptation of water programs and increase resiliency of water resources, states and 

tribes can use existing water quality and watershed planning programs and resources (e.g., 

CWA sections 106, 604(b) and 319(h) planning funds) to conduct detailed assessments or 

develop plans to increase their adaptive capacity and prioritize adaptive responses. For 

example, agencies or local or interstate planning organizations can use section 604(b) funds to 

address climate change as part of comprehensive water quality planning efforts5. 

Strategic Action 33: The NWP will encourage green infrastructure and low-impact 

development to protect water quality and to make watersheds more resilient. 

Preserving the ability of the land to absorb water helps to preserve the natural function of 

wetlands and watersheds while also controlling pulses of stormwater. Both GI and LID 

5 Section 604(b) of the CWA establishes a grant program to fund state, local and interstate water quality planning 

efforts under CWA sections 205(j) and 303(e). This provision requires states to reserve 1% of their Clean Water 

State Revolving Fund allotment or $100,000, whichever is greater, for planning. Under section 205(j) many states 

pass through at least 40% of these funds to local or interstate planning organizations. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

49 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

incorporate approaches to managing stormwater in a way that will reduce runoff. GI and LID 

management approaches and technologies use infiltration, evapotranspiration, and capture and 

reuse of stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrologies (EPA, 2011j). They employ 

principles such as preserving and recreating  For more information on how NWP will natural landscape features, and minimizing work to protect the quality and imperviousness, to create functional and resilience of watersheds, please see 

appealing site drainage that treats stormwater Goal 3, Strategic Action 10 in the 

as a resource rather than a waste product	 Watersheds and Wetlands section, 

page 32. (EPA, 2011k). 

The NWP will promote the use of GI and LID through stormwater permitting, outreach, and 

assistance programs to support states and permittees in evaluating benefits and co-benefits of 

GI and LID approaches. Efforts will be focused on not only new development, but also ongoing 

and re-development. This Strategic Action supports the Agency goal to incorporate climate 

change science and scenario information in five rulemaking processes by 2015. 

Strategic Action 34: The NWP will promote the consideration of climate change impacts by 

NPDES permitting authorities. 

As authorized by the CWA, the NPDES permit program controls water pollution by regulating 

point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States (EPA, 2009c). To help 

NPDES permit writers prepare for possible climate change impacts to surface waters, the NWP 

will evaluate and develop, as needed, technical guidance documents for permit writers to 

improve their decision making processes related to the impacts of climate change, such as use 

of precipitation and stream flow data, and other data or models. 

To promote water quality on a watershed scale, the NWP will continue to encourage the use of 

flexible watershed approaches, such as watershed-based permitting and water quality trading, 

for building surface water resiliency to climate change impacts. The NWP will also consider the 

need for, and appropriateness of, incorporating greater uncertainty into permit calculations, to 

reflect the uncertainty in climate projections related to NPDES permitting (e.g. precipitation 

projections). 

The NWP will evaluate, when necessary, the use of critical low flow stream conditions 

considering climate change, and will encourage NPDES permitting authorities to incorporate 

revised low-flow stream estimates into NPDES permit effluent limit development where 

appropriate. The NWP will continue to encourage NPDES permitting authorities to consider 

inherent climate change impacts (e.g., warmer surface waters) when evaluating applications for 

316(a) variances from thermal effluent limitations. 

Strategic Action 35: For future TMDLs, the NWP will recommend that water quality 

authorities consider climate change impacts when developing waste load and load 

allocations, where appropriate. 

Under section 303(d) of the CWA, states, territories, and authorized tribes are required to 

develop lists of impaired waters (i.e., “the 303(d) list”). These are waters that are too polluted or 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

50 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by states, territories, or authorized 

tribes after the implementation of effluent limitations or other pollution control requirements. The 

law requires jurisdictions to develop TMDLs for these waters. A TMDL is a calculation of the 

maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still safely meet water quality 

standards (EPA, 2011l). 

For future TMDLs, the NWP will encourage use of models to evaluate impacts under a range of 

projected future climatic shifts using the best information and tools available. A possible place 

for incorporating this information The Chesapeake Bay TMDL and Climate Change would be in the margin of safety 

analysis which provides a buffer “EPA and USGS will work in conjunction with the states to 

under the assumption of conduct an analysis by 2017 to consider accounting for 

uncertainty in the quality of the uncertainties of climate change in TMDL allocations. 

USGS has begun initial assessment of changes in receiving water and the level of pollution loads in the watershed under different climate pollutant in the discharge. and land-use scenarios. Initial results will be available in 

2012 and be used to further plan assessments for TMDL 

It is probable that most existing allocations. Enhanced assessment will begin in 2016. ” 

TMDLs do not take climate  Chesapeake Executive Order Strategy, 

change considerations into p. 41 [CBPO, 2010] 

account, and due to the number of 

TMDLs in existence (~40,000) it is not feasible to re-open each TMDL with the sole purpose of 

incorporating climate change considerations. However, the NWP will encourage that 

development of future TMDLs include evaluation of projected climate impacts and uncertainty 

and incorporate this information into the TMDL, as appropriate. This will be done in a way that 

recognizes the limitations of current modeling in predicting the pace and magnitude of localized 

climate change impacts. 

Strategic Action 36: The NWP will identify and work to protect designated uses that are at 

risk from climate change impacts. 

A designated use establishes the water quality goals for a specific waterbody and serves as the 

regulatory basis for establishing controls beyond technology based requirements [40 CFR 

131.2]. The water quality standards regulations, implementing CWA section 303(c), require that 

states and authorized tribes specify appropriate water uses to be achieved and protected. 

These uses are identified by taking into consideration the use and value of the water body for 

public water supply; for protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife; and for 

recreational, agricultural, industrial, and navigational purposes. In addition, the CWA places 

additional emphasis on achieving, wherever attainable, “water quality which provides for the 

protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and for recreation in and on the water” 

[Section 101(a)(2)]. EPA’s regulation at 40 CFR part 131 interprets and implements these 

provisions through requirements that WQS protect the uses specified in section 101(a)(2) of the 

Act unless those uses have been shown to be unattainable, effectively creating a rebuttable 

presumption of attainability. 

EPA's regulations require that when removing a designated use, the state must provide an 

analysis (i.e., a Use Attainability Analysis (UAA)) to demonstrate that the designated use is not 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

51 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

feasible to attain based on one of the established regulatory factors [40 CFR 131.10(g)]. 

Additionally, States must conduct a review of their WQS at least once every three years [40 

CFR 131.20]. As part of that triennial review, states must examine whether any new information 

has become available for water bodies where water quality standards specify designated uses 

that do not include the uses specified in section 101(a)(2) of the Act. If such new information 

indicates that the uses specified in section 101(a)(2) are attainable, the state shall revise its 

WQS accordingly [40 CFR 131.20(a)]. 

The water quality standards regulation specifies circumstances under which a designated use 

may, or may not, be removed or revised [40 CFR 131.10(g), (h), (j), and (k)]. If a designated use 

is an existing use (as defined in 40 CFR 131.3) for a particular water body, the designated use 

cannot be removed unless a use requiring more stringent criteria is added. 

To target protective efforts, the NWP will identify designated uses that are important to states 

and tribes, necessary to meet the goals of the CWA, and vulnerable to climate change impacts. 

For example, recreational uses such as swimming, boating, and fishing may be affected by 

changes in precipitation levels, which may lead to increased impairments. Cold water fisheries 

may need particular consideration since such uses may be particularly susceptible to changes 

in water temperature. To protect existing uses and water quality, the NWP will work to ensure 

full implementation of antidegradation requirements, which, at a minimum, require maintenance 

and protection of existing uses and the level of water quality necessary to protect the existing 

uses. 

The NWP will also work with stakeholders to better understand how a state could conduct 

UAAs, using the six attainability factors in EPA's current regulations, that will address 

designated use attainability where climate change may be the primary cause of non-attainment 

and where impacts cannot be remedied. 

Strategic Action 37: The NWP will clarify how to re-evaluate aquatic life water quality 

criteria on more regular intervals. The NWP will also develop information to assist States 

and Tribes who are developing criteria that incorporate climate change considerations for 

hydrologic condition. 

Section 304(a)(1) of the CWA requires EPA to develop criteria for water quality that accurately 

reflects the latest scientific knowledge regarding pollutant concentrations and environmental or 

human health effects (EPA, 2011p). From time to time, these criteria are updated to account for 

advances in the science. States, tribes, and territories may adopt these criteria or other 

scientifically defensible criteria into their water quality standards. The NWP will clarify how to 

update criteria on more regular intervals using the best and most accurate science and data 

related to both the changing climate conditions and how pollutants react to the changing 

conditions on a pollutant by pollutant basis. 

In addition, since climate changes will affect hydrologic conditions, the NWP will incorporate the 

best available science in an informational document to assist states and tribes that are 

interested in protecting aquatic life from these impacts. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

52 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

GOAL 13: As the nation makes decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 

develop alternative sources of energy and fuel, the NWP will work to protect water 

resources from unintended adverse consequences. 

Alternative sources of energy and fuel are important for reducing emissions of GHGs, and offer 

a number of win-win energy choices. However, as energy policy decisions are made to take 

steps to mitigate GHGs, and as technologies go through the regulatory cycle, the NWP is 

responsible for providing perspective on how they affect water resources. As with conventional 

energy technologies, new technologies may also contribute to water quantity and quality 

problems. This goal identifies actions to reduce the adverse effects of new technologies on 

water resources; similarly, actions are identified to assure that new technologies to improve 

water quality are also energy efficient. 

Strategic Action 38: EPA will seek opportunities to provide additional assistance to states 

and permittees to ensure that geologic sequestration of CO2 is responsibly managed by 

states and permittees to protect and preserve underground sources of drinking water. 

EPA finalized requirements for geologic sequestration in December 2010, under the authority of 

the SDWA’s UIC Program (EPA, 2010e). These requirements are designed to protect 

underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). The rule builds on existing UIC Program 

requirements, with tailored requirements that address carbon dioxide injection for long-term 

storage to ensure that wells used for geologic sequestration are appropriately sited, 

constructed, tested, and monitored during and after injection, and closed including post injection 

site care in a manner that ensures USDW protection. The NWP will consider opportunities to 

provide additional assistance to protect USDWs. 

Strategic Action 39: The NWP will work with ORD to better understand the risks of storing 

ethanol-blended transportation fuels and with the Office of Underground Storage Tanks to 

explore options to mitigate such risk through updated policies. 

EPA finalized the Renewable Fuel Standard rulemaking in early 2010 (EPA, 2011m). The 

rulemaking implements a statutory provision that requires 36 billion gallons per year of biofuels 

be used by 2022. In order to adapt to the increased storage of biofuels such as ethanol and 

biodiesel in underground storage tanks (USTs), EPA is working with its partners to gain a better 

understanding of UST system materials compatibility, functionality of leak detection 

technologies, and the fate, transport, and remediation issues associated with biofuel releases. 

The majority of ethanol-blended fuel sold in the U.S. is a mixture of approximately 10 percent 

ethanol and 90 percent gasoline by volume (E10). E85 fuel, a mixture of up to 85 percent 

ethanol and 15 percent gasoline by volume, is also being used for flexible-fuel vehicles. Unlike 

other fuel components, ethanol is corrosive and highly water soluble. As a result, special 

precautions must be taken to ensure that UST system components are both compatible and 

functional with ethanol blends (EPA, 2009a). 

The Land Research Program in ORD provides methods, models, and tools needed to remediate 

leaking UST sites and address fate and transport issues of leaking contaminants. EPA also 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

53 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

proposed guidance (EPA, 2010f) that will clarify how UST owners and operators can comply 

with EPA's compatibility requirement (40 CFR §280.32), which states that owners and operators 

must use a system made of or lined with materials that are compatible with the substance 

stored in the UST system. EPA will continue to explore these and other options for mitigation of 

risk related to storage of ethanol-blended fuels in USTs and possible impacts to water quality. 

Strategic Action 40: EPA will consider options to provide outreach materials for 

stakeholders to encourage the adoption of alternative sources of energy and fuels that are 

water efficient and maintain water quality. 

To learn more about how NWP 

Alternative energy sources provide decreased reliance plans to encourage energy efficiency 

on fossil fuels for water utilities, please see Goal 1, . However, they still require access to Strategic Action 2 in the water, and may still place added stress on water Infrastructure section. supplies. EPA will develop a website that consolidates 

EPA information on the energy/water nexus, as well as water and energy efficiency information 

for various sectors (forthcoming; includes EPA-OAR; EPA-R9, 2011). In order to reduce the 

possibility of adverse impacts to water quality and supply, EPA will seek opportunities and 

explore options to continue to develop and update outreach materials for stakeholders in 

concert with federal agencies such as DOE and its Renewable Energy Technology Program 

(DOE, 2012) and state water science agencies. 

Strategic Action 41: As climate change affects the operation or placement of reservoirs, 

the NWP will work with other federal agencies and EPA programs to understand the 

combined effects of climate change and hydropower on flows, water temperature, and 

water quality. 

Hydropower generation is considered a renewable energy resource because the water 

supplying it is renewable. A hydroelectric power plant converts the downstream movement of 

water into electricity by directing the water, often held at a dam or reservoir, through a hydraulic 

turbine that is connected to a generator. Although power plants are regulated by federal and 

state laws to protect human health and the environment, there are a wide variety of 

environmental impacts associated with power generation technologies. In addition, climate 

change is likely to affect the amount, timing, and temperature of water used for hydropower, 

creating competition for water supply, affecting operational decisions, and altering the 

background condition of the aquatic system. The NWP will work with other federal agencies and 

programs to understand and address these combined impacts. For example, NWP could work 

with the DOE Wind and Water Power Program (DOE, 2011, DOE 2012) as well as with the 

Bureau of Reclamation and other signatories of the Federal Hydropower MOU (BOR, DOE, 

USACE) to further coordination and integration of hydropower and other water resource uses 

(BOR, 2010). 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

54 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

GOAL 14: The NWP will work to make hydrological and climate data and projections for 

water resource management available, when needed, in collaboration with other EPA 

programs and federal, state, tribal, and other partners. 

Many of the NWP’s programs are currently faced with a lack of sufficient data to assess national 

program effectiveness. Whether the data don’t exist or are just not easily or publicly available 

differs by program, but lack of access to current data and consolidated analyses is a 

fundamental problem. As more climate models and vulnerability assessment tools become 

available, the NWP will work with partners from inside and outside EPA to collect, assimilate, 

and disseminate historic and projected information from the best sources available. The 

strategies in this section aim to gather, enhance, and improve access to the data that the NWP 

and its partners need for water resource management under changing climate conditions. 

Strategic Action 42: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters and ground water. 

In order to respond to climate changes, the NWP will need to understand the impacts to surface 

and ground waters. The NWP will support interagency monitoring networks by coordinating and 

collaborating with the EPA/State National Aquatic Resource Surveys (EPA, 2011n) and other 

agencies’ monitoring programs to encourage them to add the ability to track and evaluate 

changes to water resources availability and quality using historical, reliable, long-term 

monitoring networks. 

Strategic Action 43: Develop new methods for use of updated precipitation, storm 

frequency, and observational streamflow data, as well as methods for evaluating projected 

changes in low flow conditions, in collaboration with other federal agencies. 

EPA will work to update hydrological data and methods in collaboration with federal consortia 

((e.g., the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force (ICCATF), the Office of Science 

and Technology Policy’s Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality (SWAQ), the 

USGCRP, the Climate Change and Water Working Group (CCAWWG), the Integrated Water 

Resources Science and Services (IWRSS) etc.)) and will engage partners ((e.g., Federal 

Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI), Water Environment Research Foundation 

(WERF), the Water Research Foundation (WRF)), and others to develop and standardize a 

process to revise precipitation, temperature, and storm event data nationwide to incorporate 

expected changes in commonly used data. 

Of particular concern are the storm frequency, duration, and intensity estimates (e.g., 10 year, 

24 hour storm events; and 100-year, 24 hour storm events) and low flow conditions in rivers and 

streams at the HUC 12 watershed level. 

Updating precipitation records and statistical methods, and developing projections of future 

precipitation patterns, will enable a fundamental shift in modeling methods, which currently rely 

on historical data that may no longer be representative of current and future conditions. These 

efforts will fully consider the uncertainty inherent in predictions of the pace and magnitude of 

future climate-change related effects, especially at a local level. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

55 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Strategic Action 44: The NWP will work to enhance flow estimation using NHDPlus. 

The NHDPlus is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about 

naturally occurring and constructed bodies of water, paths through which water flows, and 

related entities (USGS, 2011). It provides full characterization of the flow network, identification 

of unregulated and regulated gages and reaches, and network-based interpolation and 

adjustment of flows. In order to enhance flow estimates in the face of climate change, the NWP 

will support enhancements to NHDPlus as a cost effective means of providing more accurate 

flow estimates for permitting, TMDLs, watershed planning, and other uses. 

E.	 Working With Tribes 

VISION: Tribes are able to preserve, adapt, and maintain the viability of their culture, 

traditions, natural resources, and economies in the face of a changing climate. 

Native Americans have distinct cultural and 

spiritual connections to the water and land. The 

collective wisdom of elders and ancestors has 

allowed them to carefully use and manage the 

land for centuries. Changes to the earth’s climate 

provide a new set of challenges for tribes seeking 

to maintain and protect their resources and the 

safety and health of their people. 

Indian tribes are responsible for protecting and 

restoring tens of thousands of square miles of 

rivers, streams, and lakes, as well as ground 

water in over 110,000 square miles of Indian 

country in the United States. Because tribes are 

co-regulators with EPA for water programs, and 

are water resource managers for their 

communities, it is important for EPA to ensure 

that tribes are able to provide ongoing input and 

participate in NWP strategies and actions on 

climate change. It will be important to understand 

and consider the impact of climate change on 

Native American communities and their traditional values and cultures, particularly as EPA 

invests in water management programs in Indian country. 

Working with Tribes
 

Examples of EPA Adaptation 


Activities
 

 Region 2 awarded a grant to the Saint 

Regis Mohawk Tribe to work together 

with all R2 tribal nations to discuss and 

design adaptation approaches during 

2012. 

 Region 5: The Great Lakes National 

Program Office is funding Great Lakes 

tribes to implement climate change 

adaptation projects and programs. 

Specifically, Lake Superior tribes and 

tribal organizations received Great 

Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) 

funding through their tribal capacity 

grants to initiate priority climate 

change adaptation projects and 

initiatives; and tribes have been 

involved in the Lake Superior 

Sustainability Committee which is 

developing a Lake Superior climate 

change adaptation plan. 

Tribes often express a holistic perspective in viewing and 

understanding the environment, and seek to achieve “sustainability” in 

their lifestyle choices, both environmentally and economically, 

recognizing that ultimately, it is the environment that sustains us all. 

Tribal recommendations to EPA include seeing the “big picture” and 

not compartmentalizing environmental programs into separate media 

to address threats from climate change. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

56 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Much of the work with Tribes takes place within the EPA Regions, further described in Chapter 

IV, Geographic Climate Regions. This section describes broadly the kinds of activities the NWP 

intends to pursue with Tribes. 

GOAL 15: The NWP incorporates climate change considerations in the implementation of 

its core programs for tribal Nations, and collaborates with other EPA Offices and federal 

Agencies to work with tribes on climate change issues on a multi-media basis to build 

sustainability. 

Strategic Action 45: The NWP will ensure that the revised NWP Tribal Strategy and 

subsequent implementation of CWA, SDWA and other core programs incorporate climate 

change as a key consideration. 

Principles to observe include ensuring: 

 Tribes are involved in watershed-based strategies, integrated water resource management 

strategies, or other geographic strategies that affect tribal resources; 

 Tribes participate in the development of EPA multi-media strategies for addressing climate 

change impacts on tribal lands; 

 Actions taken are informed by and consistent with the EPA - Tribal Science Council’s 

climate change priorities and research recommendations. 

Strategic Action 46: The NWP will incorporate adaptation into tribal funding mechanisms, 

and will collaborate with other EPA and federal funding programs to support sustainability 

and adaptation in tribal communities, to the extent allowable by law. 

Examples of actions for the NWP to pursue include: 

 Provide guidance on the use of funding programs within the NWP to include mitigation and 

adaptation planning and implementation as eligible grant activities, as appropriate; 

 Work with others in EPA to help clarify for tribes how funding mechanisms can be used for 

climate planning and implementation, such as the Tribal GAP program managed by the 

American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO) and Community Action for a Renewed 

Environment (CARE); and 

 Work with federal partners to coordinate tribal adaptation planning and to conduct training 

and education for tribal members and environmental justice communities for building 

adaptive capacity. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

57 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

GOAL 16: Tribes have access to information on climate change that they can use to inform 

and engage their communities for effective decision making. 

Strategic Action 47: The NWP will collaborate to explore and develop climate change 

science, information and tools for tribes to understand local climate impacts and risks to 

inform adaptation solutions, and will incorporate local knowledge where possible. 

Examples of information requested by Tribes include: 

 Information on environmental conditions and long term trends; 

 Risk assessment and management tools to help identify environmental risks and inform 

adaptation solutions; 

 Assessments of watershed conditions and impacts using peer reviewed summaries of 

empirical data specific to geographic areas and water resources, to inform local action; 

 Perspectives of tribal elders with historic information to inform understanding and 

adaptation responses; 

 Management options that consider climate change factors to protect watershed resources; 

 Case studies of Tribal Environmental Knowledge (TEK) incorporated into program delivery, 

and guidelines for incorporating TEK into science products; and 

 Opportunities to leverage federal resources that can provide science information to Tribes 

Strategic Action 48: The NWP will collaborate with others to develop communication 

materials relevant for tribal uses and tribal audiences. 

Examples of materials requested by Tribes include: 

 Information tailored to different climate regions; 

 Information linked to tribal culture and traditions; and 

 Information for use in elementary, high school, and tribal college and university curricula. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

58 |Visions & Goals 
 

 

 

Figure 12.
 

Climate Regions as adapted from USGCRP
 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

V. Geographic Climate Regions 

A. Introduction 

The USGCRP defines eight 

geographic regions that 

have broadly common 

climatological characteristics 

(USGCRP, 2009a). In 

evaluating the EPA water 

program for this revised 

2012 Strategy, we have 

included a discussion of 

particular issues by climate 

region. These regions are 

largely adopted from the 

USGCRP construct with a 

few amendments. The 

‘Islands’ Region has been 

broken into two distinctive 

Island groups (Caribbean and 

Pacific Islands); and a Montane Region consisting of the glaciated ranges of the Rocky 

Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascades, was added to reflect its unique geographic 

features and expected climate change impacts. Further, while the 2000 Assessment also 

considered ‘Native Peoples and Native Homelands’ as a ‘Region,’ we have included tribal 

issues in Chapter V, Programmatic Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions. 

Several EPA Regions span multiple USGCRP regions (see Figure 12 and Table 1). Each EPA 

Region addresses a variety of climate impacts in their program implementation. This chapter 

describes strategic issues and 

Climate Regions EPA Regions 

Northeast 1, 2, 3 

Southeast 3, 4, 6 

Midwest 2, 5,7 

Great Plains 6, 7, 8 

Southwest 6, 8, 9 

Pacific Northwest 8, 10 

Montane 8, 9, 10 

Alaska 10 

Caribbean Islands 2 

U.S. Pacific Islands and Territories 9 

key actions that the EPA 

Regions will continue to focus 

on in the coming years, while 

the Regions also participate in 

the implementation of relevant 

strategic actions discussed in 

Chapter III above. 

Table 1. USGCRP Climate Regions and EPA Regions 

The federal government is 

working to deliver climate 

services not only at a national 

scale but also at regional 

scales. Examples of federal 

agencies working to develop 

localized climate-related 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

59 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

services include: 

 DOI’s Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs); 

 DOI’s Climate Science Centers; 

 NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISAs); 

 Interagency/NOAA-led National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) 

 NOAA National Climatic Data Centers; and 

 National Park Service Climate Friendly Parks initiative. 

Further, as described in the ICCATF 2010 Progress Report (CEQ, 2010), regional offices of 

federal agencies have been asked to coordinate to deliver services related to climate change. 

As a result, an effort is underway to develop regional hubs that can provide localized 

assistance, where a regional adaptation coordinator can offer a single point of entry for 

stakeholders to access federal adaptation science and services. These partnerships will be 

important for EPA Regions as they work towards achieving their long term goals. 

B. Ongoing Programs Relevant to Climate Change across All Regions 

There are a number of ongoing programs and activities, described throughout this report, that 

are important for protecting water resources irrespective of climate change, and that are also 

important for both adapting to climate change impacts and reducing GHG emissions. These 

core programs and principles being implemented by EPA across all climate regions include: 

 Green Infrastructure (GI) and Low Impact Development (LID); 

 Water efficiency and conservation through the WaterSense program; 

 Building sustainability of water and wastewater infrastructure through the Climate Ready 

Water Utilities (CRWU) program; 

 Improving energy efficiency through the Effective Utility Management (EUM) program; 

 Promoting proactive, holistic aquatic ecosystem conservation and protection through the 

Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI); 

 Developing tools for coastal resources via the Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program and 

the National Estuaries Program (NEP); 

 Protecting underground sources of drinking water by implementing the Geologic 

Sequestration (GS) rule; and 

 Coordinating federal funding and programs through the Partnership for Sustainable 

Communities between HUD, DOT, and EPA, to align infrastructure investments, such as for 

water, housing, or transportation that will help reduce pollution and build resilience. 

As EPA continues to develop approaches to mitigate GHG emissions and adapt to climate 

change, they will be adopted across the climate regions as guided by Regional priorities. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

60 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

C. EPA and Climate Regions – Goals and Strategic Actions 

EPA’s Regional programs provide a platform for integrating activities across media, including 

air, water, and land. Many of the Regions, in fact, have developed, or are developing, Regional 

energy and/or climate change adaptation plans or strategies. In addition, after EPA’s agencywide adaptation plan is finalized in 2012, each region will be preparing an implementation plan 

providing more detail on how it will carry out the work called for in the agency-wide plan, per the 

Administrator’s June 1, 2011 Policy Statement on Adaptation (EPA, 2011a). This Chapter 

provides a synopsis of the water-related activities in the Regions, and identifies long term goals 

and strategic actions that EPA Regions plan to take in the coming years to build resilience at the 

national, state, tribal, and local level. Links are provided to Regional web sites where more 

information can be found. 

Northeast Region 

 Region 1: http://www.epa.gov/region1/climatechange/index.html. 

 Region 2: http://www.epa.gov/region2/climate/. 

 Region 3: http://www.epa.gov/region03/index.htm. 

The Northeast climate region extends from West Virginia and Maryland in the south to the 

Canadian border in the north, and is bounded by the northern terminus of the Appalachian 

Mountain range to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The region includes 12 states in 

three EPA Regions (1, 2, and 3) and is home to 63 million people, representing 21 percent of 

the population of the United States. The population is concentrated along the coast, with a 

generally more rural interior, and therefore addressing sea level rise and other coastal issues is 

of particular importance. 

Goal 

EPA programs in the Northeast Region will work to make coastlines and watersheds more 

resilient to changes in water temperature, precipitation, and sea level. 

Strategic Issues 

 Flooding from increasingly frequent and intense rain events as well as intense tropical 

storm will tax aging infrastructure, including combined sewer systems, and adversely 

impact water quality; 

 Dense coastal development and shoreline armoring prevents wetland migration and leads 

to loss of wetlands as sea level rises; 

 Increases in the extent of storm surge and coastal flooding will cause erosion and property 

damage to the densely populated coasts. The State of New York has more than $2.3 trillion 

in insured coastal property (USGCRP, 2009b); 

 Sea level rise may increase saltwater intrusion to coastal freshwater aquifers, resulting in 

water resources unusable without desalination. Increased evaporation or reduced recharge 

into coastal aquifers exacerbates saltwater intrusion; 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

61 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Sea level rise will lead to direct and indirect losses for the region’s energy infrastructure 

(e.g., power plants and oil refineries located along the coast, facilities that receive oil and 

gas deliveries), including equipment damage from flooding or erosion. Damaged energy 

facilities also may be a source of pollution; 

 Sea level rise, increased water temperatures, salinity distribution and circulation, changes 

in precipitation and fresh water runoff, and acidification will change aquatic ecosystem 

species composition and distribution. This will also result in potential for new or increased 

prevalence of invasive species; 

 Impacts from increasingly diverse types of energy development (e.g., hydraulic fracturing, 

biomass, land based and offshore renewable energy development) may negatively impact 

the region’s water resources; and 

 Despite the increased precipitation that most climate change models predict for the 

Chesapeake watershed, initial estimates of watershed models are that increases in 

temperature and consequent increases in evapotranspiration cause a decrease in annual 

river flows in the mid-Atlantic. Considering the Baltimore, DC, Richmond axis is the 

southern portion of the densely populated Boston - DC megalopolis, concern is warranted 

for securing safe and adequate drinking water supplies under climate change conditions in 

both the Northeast and Southeast climate regions. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to promoting the core climate programs (discussed in Section IV.B), EPA is working 

with the New England Federal Partners group, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, 

and other regional networks to support the development of consistent scientific methods and 

robust datasets to inform long-term policy decisions on climate change vulnerability 

assessments and adaptation planning. This involves: 

 Standardizing regional assumptions regarding future climate change impacts; and 

 Informing a framework for local, state, and regional decision-making that accommodates 

existing and emergent data sources for adaptation planning efforts. 

Additionally, EPA in the Northeast Region will serve as a leader, coordinator, and facilitator 

within the region on mitigation and adaptation activities, which include: 

 Promote water and energy efficiency at water and wastewater utilities, and encourage 

sustainability by promoting WaterSense, CRE, and water sustainability initiatives; 

 Support the NEP and CRE programs in the development of tools and the implementation of 

sea level rise adaptation measures; 

 Continue to engage the National Ocean Policy/National Ocean Council in addressing sea 

level rise adaptation and mitigation measures; 

 Support emergency preparedness/response capabilities in the water sector, such as the 

mutual aid and assistance networks in New England; 

 Promote adoption of GI and LID approaches through nonpoint source and stormwater 

management and funding programs (e.g., Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) 

permits that include flexibility for use of LID approaches; and 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

62 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Support federally recognized tribes and environmental justice populations that are already 

acutely impacted by water issues that may be aggravated by climate change, and may 

require targeted technical assistance. For example, Region 2 awarded a grant to the Saint 

Regis Mohawk Tribe to work together with all Region 2 tribal nations to discuss and design 

adaptation approaches during 2012. 

Southeast Region 

 Region 3: http://www.epa.gov/region03/index.htm. 

 Region 4: http://www.epa.gov/region4/water. 

 Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6/climatechange/water.htm. 

The Southeast climate region extends from Virginia to the Texas border with Mexico. It includes 

the South Atlantic Coast, the Piedmont Coastal Plain, the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the 

Gulf Coast and the southern Mississippi River Watershed. All of EPA Region 4 and parts of 

Regions 3 and 6 are included in the Southeast region. 

The region includes a wealth of ecological and economic resources, such as barrier islands, 

extensive estuaries, busy shipping ports, and important commercial and recreational fishing 

resources. Given the continuing population and business growth in the southeastern coastal 

states and the ensuing pressures on the coastal zones of this region, there are compounded 

pressures from decreased water supply as well as increased flooding; sea level rise and intense 

tropical storms compounded by land subsidence; and heat-related stress on aquatic 

ecosystems and human health. 

Goals 

Region 4 established a cross-program multi-media Energy and Climate Change Steering 

Committee and Workgroup that developed and is implementing an Energy and Climate Change 

Strategy. Similarly, Region 6 developed a Clean Energy and Climate Change Strategy through 

a cross program, multi-media workgroup. These workgroups will work to achieve the following 

long term goals: 

 Sea Level Rise: Work with coastal states, tribes, counties, cities, and federal partners to 

enhance adoption of adaptive measures to lessen or avoid significant adverse effects and 

to increase resiliency. 

 Current Data: Ensure that changing precipitation patterns, stream hydrology, and available 

water resources data are updated and reflected in core water program implementation, as 

appropriate and taking uncertainty into consideration. 

 Water Utility Energy and Water Use Efficiency: Promote energy and water use efficiency 

by working with partner utilities. 

 Geological Sequestration: Ensure ample State program capacities and technical skills for 

implementing the Geological Sequestration (GS) Rule for Class VI wells and related 

permitting program. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

63 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Vulnerable Populations: Work with vulnerable and historically under-represented 

communities to build climate change adaptation and mitigation capacities. 

Strategic Issues 

 Decreased water availability due to increased temperature, increased evaporation, and 

longer periods of time between rainfall events, coupled with an increase in societal 

demand, is very likely to affect many sectors of the Southeast’s economy. 

 Increasing evaporation and plant water loss rates alter the balance of runoff and ground 

water recharge, which (along with sea level rise) is likely to lead to saltwater intrusion into 

shallow aquifers in certain coastal areas of the Southeast. 

 As sea level rises, barrier island configurations will change and coastal shorelines will 

retreat. Wetlands will be inundated and eroded, and low-lying areas, including some 

communities, will be inundated more frequently – some permanently – by the advancing 

sea. 

 As sea level rises, temperature increases and rainfall patterns change the salinity of 

estuaries, coastal wetlands, and tidal rivers, which are likely to become more variable. 

There will likely be longer periods of high salinities destroying coastal ecosystems or 

displacing them farther inland over time. 

 Higher intensity and potentially more frequent storm surge flooding of coastal ecosystems 

and communities are likely in some low-lying areas. This concern is particularly acute along 

the central Gulf Coast and in south Florida and coastal North Carolina. Combined with up to 

two feet or more of sea level rise, increased storm surge is likely to result in significant 

human and natural resource consequences for this region. 

 Hurricane intensity may increase with climate change and pose an increasingly severe risk 

to people, personal property, and public infrastructure in the Southeast. Hurricanes have 

their greatest impact at the coastal margin where they make landfall, causing storm surge, 

severe beach erosion, inland flooding, and wind-related damage to both cultural and 

natural resources. 

The warming projected for the Southeast during the next 50 to 100 years will create heat-related 

stress for fish and aquatic ecosystems, and may result in a decline in dissolved oxygen in 

stream, lakes, and shallow aquatic habitats leading to fish kills and loss of aquatic species 

diversity. Other effects of the projected increases in temperature may include more frequent 

outbreaks of shellfish-borne diseases in coastal waters and altered distribution of native aquatic 

plants and animals. 

Strategic Actions 

Regions 3, 4 and 6 intend to support the above long-term goals through the following strategic 

actions: 

 Sea Level Rise 

 Support National NEPs, focusing on the development of tools and implementing sea 

level adaptation measures. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

64 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Engage with the South Atlantic Alliance and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, to promote 

resilience and mitigate the impacts of (and adapt to) climate change. 

 Continue to engage with the National Ocean Policy/National Ocean Council and the 

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force to assist in adapting to and mitigating 

for the effects of sea level rise. 

 Develop pilot regional partnerships with FEMA’s Long Term Community Recovery 

Program to encourage pre-disaster planning and to promote incorporation of 

sustainable, resilient reconstruction and energy management improvements into 

water/wastewater facilities damaged in declared disaster areas. 

 Current Data 

 Work with EPA Headquarters, states, and tribes to incorporate changing temperatures 

and hydrologic data into EPA and delegated state programs. 

 Energy 

 Recruit additional WaterSense partners, providing technical assistance, and utilizing 

applicable grant programs. 

 Host GI training workshops and installation of GI demonstration projects. Region 4 has 

an ongoing project with the City of Jacksonville, FL to promote implementation of GI 

projects and principles. Region 6 is working with Dallas on a series of GI and urban 

heat island mitigation and adaptation projects. 

 Build internal capacity to assist water/wastewater facilities in the assessment of energy 

use and ways to reduce energy demands, and in identifying willing partners for which 

results can be measured to serve as models. 

 Develop Regional capacity for and implementation of a Regional Pilot Energy
 

Management Program for Water/ Wastewater Facilities.
 

 Geologic Sequestration 

 Host training and other technical assistance activities for states on implementation of 

the GS Rule for Class VI wells, and exercise regulatory oversight of UIC permits for 

CO2 sequestration. 

 Vulnerable Populations 

 Work with vulnerable and historically under-represented communities to ensure 

information, access, and attention exists for building the needed climate change 

adaptation and mitigation capacities. 

 Through a newly established EPA-Tribal Climate Change Network, EPA Region 6 will 

continue to work with tribal communities to ensure timely and effective access to and 

sharing of climate change information for building mitigation and adaptation capacities 

in Indian Country. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

65 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Midwest Region 

 Region 2: http://www.epa.gov/region2/climate/. 

 Region 5: http://www.epa.gov/r5water/. 

http://www.epa.gov/r5climatechange/. 

 Region 7: http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/index.htm. 

The Midwest’s climate is shaped by the presence of the Great Lakes and the region’s location in 

the middle of the North American continent. This location, far from the temperature-moderating 

effects of the oceans, experiences large seasonal swings in air temperature from hot, humid 

summers to cold winters. Areas from EPA Regions 5 and 7 are included in the Midwest climate 

region. In addition, Region 2 is connected ecologically to this climate region through the Great 

Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Great Lakes are a natural resource of tremendous 

significance in the Midwest, containing 20 percent of the planet’s fresh surface water. Much of 

the region, outside of the Great Lakes Basin, drains to the Mississippi River, and as such, 

contributes to long range impacts in the Gulf of Mexico. Issues of particular concern in this 

Region include extreme variability in precipitation and temperature, and preserving the 

ecological integrity of the Great Lakes. 

Goals 

The long term goals of EPA in the Midwest region include: 

 Use knowledge gained from downscaled climate models and other data to integrate climate 

considerations regarding precipitation into NPDES permits and long term control plans 

(LTCPs), taking into account the uncertainty in model results; 

 Understand vulnerability of water-related infrastructure and work with partners to increase 

resilience of the region’s critical infrastructure from extreme storm events; 

 Improve the Great Lakes community’s understanding of how their ecosystems and 

populations will be impacted by climate change and their ability to plan and implement 

adaptation measures for those impacts; 

 Protect groundwater and surface water quality and quantity; and 

 Protect vulnerable populations. 

Strategic Issues 

 Variability in precipitation patterns will be a challenge for both drinking water and 

wastewater utilities and their systems. More intense rainfall can overload drainage systems 

and water treatment facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases. This is of 

particular concern for combined sewer overflow (CSO) communities. Increases in such 

events are likely to cause greater property damage, higher insurance rates, a heavier 

burden on emergency management, increased clean-up and rebuilding costs, and a 

growing financial toll on businesses, homeowners, and insurers; 

 In the summer, with increasing evaporation rates and longer periods between rainfalls, the 

likelihood of drought will increase and water levels in rivers, streams, and wetlands are 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

66 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

likely to decline. Water levels in the Great Lakes are projected to fall between one and two 

feet by the end of the century (USGCRP, 2009), which may result in significant lengthening 

of the distance to the lakeshore in many locations, impacting beaches, coastal ecosystems, 

dredging requirements, infrastructure, and shipping. Declining water levels in the Great 

Lakes will cause the migration of coastal habitats. Additionally, climate change impacts may 

also have profound effects on agriculture, and significant resulting impacts on water 

quantity and quality; 

 Increased water temperatures will lead to an increased risk of oxygen-poor or oxygen-free 

“dead zones” that kill fish and other living organisms. Warmer water and lower oxygen 

conditions can more readily mobilize mercury and other persistent pollutants, which is of 

concern for lakes with contaminated sediment. In cases where increasing quantities of 

contaminants are taken up in the aquatic food chain, the potential for health hazards will 

increase for species that eat fish from the lakes, including humans; and 

 The Great Lakes are a bi-national resource, shared and managed jointly with Canada. 

Great Lakes climate change work, therefore, has a bi-national management and 

collaboration component. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to continuing efforts in core climate change programs such as GI, WaterSense and 

CRWU, specific actions to achieve the long term goals in the Midwest region include: 

 Work with the agriculture community to consider and promote approaches, such as 

agriculture drainage management, to improve resilience and lessen water quality impacts; 

 Review permit applications and issue UIC permits for CO2 in UIC Direct Implementation 

states. Review primacy packages (SDWA § 1422 revision applications/GS Class VI 

applications) and complete the Class VI primacy approval process; 

 Work with water utilities to promote energy and water efficiency; 

 Engage tribes in federal climate change conversations and continue efforts to work with 

tribes and tribal organizations to initiate climate change adaptation projects and initiatives; 

and 

 Continue working with environmental justice populations, especially in CSO communities, 

to improve access to climate change information and to ensure consideration of adaptation 

strategies. 

Great Plains Region 

 Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6/climatechange/water.htm. 

 Region 7: http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/index.htm. 

 Region 8: http://www.epa.gov/region8/climatechange/. 

The Great Plains climate region extends from the Dakotas and eastern half of Montana in the 

north to Texas in the south. On the west, it is bounded by the Rocky Mountains and the Basin 

and Range geographic provinces, and the central lowlands and coastal plain provinces to the 

east and to the south. Parts of ten states in three EPA Regions (6, 7, and 8) are located in this 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

67 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

vast grassland prairie, which is home to some nine million people, with the population expected 

to grow to about 14 million by 2050. The population gains will largely be in urban areas. 

Key issues in this Region relate to general population growth; loss of snowpack and declining 

surface and groundwater quality and quantity; competition for water between energy, agriculture 

and public supply; and vulnerability of prairie wetlands, prairie potholes, and playa lakes. 

Goals 

The long term goal of EPA in the Great Plains region is to work to ensure long term availability 

and high quality of water resources and related aquatic habitat and function through: 

 Water quality protection and restoration; 

 Water conservation and efficiency promotion; and 

 Protection of vulnerable populations. 

Working specifically with partners in the agricultural sector, the renewable energy sector, the oil 

and gas sector, as well as land developers and land trusts, will be important in achieving this 

goal. 

Strategic Issues 

 General population growth, and shifts in population from the region’s rural to urban centers, 

will continue to create demands for water storage to maintain sustainable water supplies 

and increase competition among water users (e.g., agricultural and municipal uses); 

 Loss of snowpack in the western portion of the region will further impact water use, storage, 

and irrigation practices. This must be taken into consideration as infrastructure is added in 

the region; 

 Declining surface and ground water quantity and quality, coupled with more frequent and 

severe droughts, will continue to exacerbate water shortages in the region; 

 Unique aquatic ecosystems such as prairie wetlands, prairie potholes, and playa lakes will 

continue to be stressed as changes occur in ground water and surface water sources; 

 Increased nonpoint source pollution (e.g., sediments, phosphorus, and nitrogen) is 

expected as increases in storm intensity are observed. This could result in changes to 

natural stream morphology and related hydrographs, and negatively impact the biological 

function of aquatic ecosystems; and 

 Water quality impacts will be amplified by increases in precipitation intensity and longer 

periods of low flow in streams. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to promoting the core climate programs, EPA’s efforts in the Great Plains region will 

include: 

 Water Quality Protection and Restoration 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

68 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Work to reduce nonpoint sources of pollution to rivers and streams by leveraging the 

OW’s National Nutrients Strategy; 

 Work with partners to incorporate changing precipitation patterns, temperature, and 

hydrology into EPA and delegated state program decision frameworks; 

 Build geosequestration evaluation, modeling, and permitting expertise within EPA 

Regions through technical workshops, seminars, and related training to enhance staff 

capacity; and 

 Exercise regulatory oversight of UIC permitting for carbon sequestration 

 Water Conservation and Efficiency 

 Promote water efficiency and energy efficiency at water and wastewater utilities, and 

encourage sustainability by promoting WaterSense, CRE, and water sustainability 

initiatives such as GI initiatives workshops and related outreach efforts in major cities 

and along the United States-Mexico border. 

 Vulnerable Populations 

 Work with vulnerable and historically under-represented communities to ensure the 

same level of information and access exists for building the needed climate change 

adaptation and mitigation capacities; and 

 Continue to work with tribal communities to provide access to climate change 

information, mitigation and adaptation strategies and funding options to ensure the long 

term viability of natural and cultural resources that support Native American 

populations. 

Southwest Region 

 Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6/climatechange/water.htm. 

 Region 8: http://www.epa.gov/region8/climatechange/. 

 Region 9: http://www.epa.gov/region09/climatechange/. 

The Southwest climate region includes California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the 

westernmost portions of Colorado and Texas. EPA Regions 6, 8, and 9 are located in this area. 

To the west of the region lies the Pacific Ocean; Mexico borders the southern edge; and the 

Rocky Mountains border a large part of the region to the east. The population of this region, now 

approximately 54 million, has the fastest growth rate in the nation. The Southwest has multiple 

climatic zones, each facing somewhat different climate changes impacts. Much of the region is 

arid with relatively high air temperatures. Several mountain ranges as well as the Pacific Ocean 

influence climate and water resources in certain parts of the Region. Water is stored as 

snowpack during the winter and released to streams in the spring and early summer, helping to 

meet increasing water demands. There are three major river systems: the Sacramento-San 

Joaquin, the Colorado and the Rio Grande. Several huge water storage and conveyance 

projects also divert water from rivers for more widespread use by agriculture and growing cities. 

The lack of rainfall and the prospect of future droughts becoming more severe is a significant 

concern, especially because the Southwest continues to lead the nation in population growth. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

69 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Goals 

The long term goals of EPA in the Southwest region are to work with federal, state, tribal and 

local partners to: 

 Increase infiltration; 

 Protect water quality to reduce stress on the ecosystem; 

 Encourage communities and utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and implement 

resulting recommendations; and 

 Work with partners and stakeholders to evaluate future drought and flood impacts on water 

resources as well as infrastructure resilience. 

Strategic Issues 

 Warmer temperatures will reduce mountain snow packs, and peak spring runoff from snow 

melt will shift to earlier in the season, leading to and increasing the shortage of fresh water 

during the summer. A longer and hotter warm season will likely result in longer periods of 

extremely low flow and lower minimum flows in late summer. Water supply systems that 

have no storage or limited storage (e.g., small municipal reservoirs) may suffer seasonal 

shortages in summer; 

 The magnitude of projected temperature increases for the Southwest, particularly when 

combined with urban heat island effects for major cities such as Phoenix, Albuquerque, Las 

Vegas, and many California cities, represents significant stresses to health, energy, and 

water supply in a region that already experiences very high summer temperatures; 

 Reduced ground water supply due to a lack of recharge will be of concern; 

 Warmer ocean temperatures may decrease productivity by stopping entrainment of deep 

supplies of nutrients. The resulting reductions in commercial species will need to be 

addressed to support continued production of fisheries and aquatic life; 

 Increased frequency and altered timing of flooding will increase risks to people, 

ecosystems, and infrastructure. Increased flood risk is likely to result from a combination of 

decreased snow cover on the lower slopes of high mountains, and an increased 

percentage of winter precipitation falling as rain and therefore running off more rapidly; 

 Sea levels are rising and contributing to the loss of wetlands and infrastructure located 

along coastal corridors; and 

 The magnitude and frequency of wildfires have increased over the last 30 years which 

severely impacts water quality in streams, creeks, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs, EPA’s effort in the 

Southwest will include the following: 

 Encourage funding programs to fund green infrastructure, energy and water-efficient 

upgrades to infrastructure, and water conservation; 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

70 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Work through the California Water and Energy Project (an interagency partnership) as well 

as the California Financing Coordinating Committee, to leverage funding to support 

sustainable water infrastructure and water use efficiency projects; 

 Continue to provide funding for tribal sustainable water infrastructure projects in 

coordination with the Indian Health Services; and 

 Build partners’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and the capacity to respond to, risks of 

climate change and water. 

Pacific Northwest Region 

 Region 8: http://www.epa.gov/region8/climatechange/. 

 Region 10: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/homepage/water. 

The Pacific Northwest climate region includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the western 

third of Montana. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Rocky Mountains on 

the east and includes EPA Region 10 and part of Region 8. Canada borders the region to the 

north. Of primary concern are impacts related to changes in snowpack, stream flows, sea level, 

forests, and other important aspects of life in the Northwest that are already underway, with 

more severe impacts expected over the coming decades in response to continued and more 

rapid climate change. 

Goals 

The long term goals of the EPA in the Northwest region are to work with federal, state, tribal, 

and local partners to increase sustainability and reduce vulnerability of communities and 

infrastructure, including by conserving water and increasing infiltration; and partner with other 

federal agencies and the regional Climate Science Center to coordinate and leverage climate 

research and other activities. 

Strategic Issues 

 Salmon and other coldwater species will experience additional stresses as a result of rising 

water temperatures and declining summer streamflows; 

 Sea level rise along vulnerable coastlines will result in increased erosion and loss of land; 

 Declining springtime snowpack will lead to reduced summer streamflows, straining water 

availability for all uses; 

 Increased insect outbreaks, wildfires, and changing species composition in forests will pose 

challenges for ecosystems and the forest products industry; 

 Water supplies will become increasingly scarce, calling for trade-offs among competing 

uses, and potentially leading to conflict; 

 Increased frequency of flooding will increase risk to people, ecosystems, and infrastructure; 

 Projected heavier winter rainfall may cause an increase in saturated soils and therefore an 

increased number of landslides, particularly where there have been intensive development 

or forest practices on unstable slopes; and 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

71 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Agriculture, ranching, and natural lands, already under pressure due to an increasingly 

limited water supply, are very likely to be further stressed by rising temperatures. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs, EPA’s efforts in the 

Northwest will include: 

 Sustainability 

 Encourage sustainable infrastructure approaches; 

 Implement water conservation measures; 

 Expand use of GI; and 

 Encourage communities and utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and 

implement resulting recommendations. 

 Water Quality 

 Implement water quality programs factoring in climate change to reduce stress on the 

ecosystem. 

 Collaboration 

 Collaborate with DOI’s LCCs; 

 Engage in Western Governors Association climate adaptation activities; 

 Partner with the Climate Science Center and other federal agencies; and 

 Engage Tribes in Federal climate conversations and activities. 

Montane Region (Intermountain West) 

 Region 8: http://www.epa.gov/region8/climatechange/. 

 Region 9: http://www.epa.gov/region09/climatechange/. 

 Region 10: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/homepage/water. 

The Montane region, in EPA Regions 8, 9 and 10, includes three glaciated mountain ranges: the 

Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada and Cascades. These areas are unique in that they rely on 

winter snow accumulation for their water supply. Sensitive ecological communities include bogs 

and fens. Montane glaciers and snowfields are reservoirs of water for the human populations 

and ecological communities at lower elevations. 

Most ecosystems in the North American Montane Region are predicted to slowly migrate and 

shift their distribution towards the north in response to warming temperatures. However, the 

alpine areas are often distributed as small, isolated regions surrounded by other habitats. These 

areas can be disconnected from each other by wide stretches of land used for timber 

production, ranching, or other uses. Instead of shifts in latitude, alpine vegetation and animals 

will be limited to shifts in altitude, unless connections between suitable habitats can be made. 

[Jackson, 2006] 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

72 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Goals 

The goal of EPA in the Montane region is to protect the water quality and biological integrity of 

the Montane region and increase the region’s resilience to climate change, through water quality 

and habitat protection and restoration. 

Strategic Issues 

 A warmer climate will cause lower-elevation habitats to move into higher zones, 

encroaching on alpine and sub-alpine habitats; 

 High-elevation plants and animals will lose habitat area as they move higher with some 

“disappearing off the tops of mountains;” 

 Rising temperatures will increase the importance of connections between mountain areas; 

 Rising temperatures may cause mountain snow to melt earlier and faster in spring, shifting 

the timing and distribution of runoff. This in turn affects the availability of freshwater for 

natural systems and for human uses. Earlier melting leads to drier conditions for the 

balance of the water year, with increased fire frequency and intensity; 

 Water supplies will become increasingly scarce, calling for trade-offs among competing 

uses, and leading to conflict; 

 Increased frequency and altered timing of flooding will increase risks to people, 

ecosystems, and infrastructure; 

 Projected increases in temperature, evaporation, and drought frequency add to concerns 

about the region’s declining water resources; and 

 Climate change is likely to affect native plant and animal species by altering key habitats 

such as the wetland ecosystems known as montane fens or playa lakes. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to continuing efforts in core climate change programs, specific actions relative to the 

Montane region include: 

 Increase protection and restoration of wetlands to optimize percolation of surface water into 

ground water; 

 Increase protection and restoration of riparian areas to reduce erosion during storm events 

and snow melt periods and thereby protect water quality; 

 Increase protection of headwater streams and wetlands to protect the quality of montane 

water sources in the midst of precipitation and runoff-timing uncertainties; 

 Collaborate with DOI’s LCCs, the USFWS, and other DOI agencies in efforts to develop 

landscape-scale strategies to address climate change issues on a bio-regional basis; 

 Coordinate climate change adaptation actions with federal agencies (given the large 

amount of federal agency holdings in the Montane region), landholders and others,; 

 Partner with other federal agencies to coordinate and leverage climate research and other 

activities; and 

 Engage tribes in federal climate conversations and activities. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

73 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Alaska Region 

 Region 10: 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/homepage/water. 

Over the past 50 years, Alaska has warmed at more than twice the average rate of the rest of 

the United States. Its annual average temperature has increased 3.4 ◦

F, while winters have 

warmed by 6.3 ◦

F. The higher temperatures are already causing earlier spring snowmelt, 

reduced sea ice, widespread glacier retreat, and permafrost warming. The observed changes 

are consistent with climate model projections of greater warming over Alaska, especially in 

winter, as compared to the rest of the country. Climate models also project increases in 

precipitation over Alaska. Simultaneous increases in evaporation due to higher air 

temperatures, however, are expected to lead to drier conditions overall, with reduced soil 

moisture. Average annual temperatures are projected to rise between 5 and 13 ◦

F by late this 

century. Increasing acidification of Alaskan waters presents a clear threat to Alaska’s 

commercial fisheries and subsistence communities (USGCRP, 2009a). 

Goals 

 Design and build infrastructure that can withstand warmer conditions and thawing 

permafrost, flooding, and fire; 

 Ensure adequate water supplies for communities dependent on disappearing sources; and 

 Protect water quality to reduce stress on the ecosystems. 

Strategic Issues 

 Longer summers and higher temperatures are causing drier conditions, despite trends in 

increased precipitation. Insect outbreaks and wildfires are increasing with warming; 

 A warmer climate will cause freshwater and saltwater species to move further north or into 

higher zones; 

 As permafrost continues to thaw and temperatures rise, some lakes and ponds are 

beginning to disappear. This impacts drinking water sources and reduces wetland habitat 

while presenting a challenge for the ecosystem and the people who depend on its natural 

resources; 

 Permafrost thaw has also caused numerous land slumps along riverbanks which can have 

an impact on water quality (increasing turbidity) with documented impacts to drinking water 

in some Alaskan communities; 

 Coastal storms increase risks to villages and fishing fleets. The combination of losing their 

protective sea ice buffer, increasing storm activity, and thawing coastal permafrost is 

causing some coastal communities to crumble into the sea. Increasing storm activity delays 

barge operations that supply coastal communities with fuel. The increased storm intensity 

puts fishing fleets at higher risk; 

 Displacement of marine species will affect key fisheries. Thawing sea ice is moving the 

location and limiting the extent of plankton blooms. As plankton moves to deeper waters, it 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

74 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

is less available to species and the food chain that depends on it, including humans 

dependent on these species for subsistence or economic livelihood; 

 Thawing permafrost damages roads, runways, water and sewer systems, and other 

infrastructure; and 

 Opening of the Arctic from melting sea ice will create new opportunities for shipping, 

resource exploration and extraction, and tourism; there may be challenges caused by the 

increased traffic. Other key issues are the potential for the introduction of invasive species, 

impacts on subsistence activities, and national security concerns. 

Strategic Actions 

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs, EPA’s work in Alaska will 

include the following efforts. 

 Infrastructure 

 Encourage sustainable infrastructure approaches; 

 Encourage communities and utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and 

implement resulting recommendations; and 

 Encourage energy-efficient motors and pumps in infrastructure to reduce GHG 

emissions. 

 Water Quality and Water Supply 

 Expand use of GI to delay stormwater runoff, mimic timing closer to the natural regime, 

and increase infiltration. 

 Collaboration 

 Collaborate with the Alaska Climate Change Executive Roundtable, , and the DOI’s 

LCCs and Climate Science Center in Alaska; 

 Partner with other federal agencies to coordinate and leverage climate research and 

other activities; and 

 Engage Tribes in federal climate conversations and activities. 

Caribbean Islands Region 

 Region 2: http://www.epa.gov/region2/climate/. 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, part of EPA Region 2, are located in the northeastern 

Caribbean Sea and are of volcanic origin. Puerto Rico (PR), including its offshore islands, 

covers a total area of 3,435 square miles. The main island of PR has three principal 

physiographic areas: the alluvial coastal plains, karst, and the central mountainous interior. 

Land surface elevations range from mean sea level to 4,389 feet above mean sea level. PR is 

home to approximately 3.9 million people, 70% of whom reside in coastal areas. Annual rainfall 

in PR ranges from about 30 inches in the western end of the south coast to about 160 inches 

near the top of the El Yunque Rainforest. Surface water provides approximately 75% of the 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

75 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

population’s freshwater needs. However, aquifers also play an important role in providing 

freshwater, especially to populations in the south coast and to the industrial sector. 

The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), including the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, 

cover a total area of 133 square miles. St. Thomas and St. John are characterized by steep 

topography while St. Croix is characterized by lower hills. Precipitation is the only natural source 

of freshwater on the islands. The population of the USVI relies on rooftop-rainfall catchments, 

large-scale desalination of seawater, and ground water. 

The sensitive coastal ecosystems and critical infrastructure of the Caribbean Islands face 

difficulty due to sea level rise, tropical storms and flooding from heavy rain. Coral reefs are 

under stress from warmer temperatures and ocean acidification. Water supplies are threatened 

due to both drought and saline contamination of aquifers. 

Goals 

The long term goals of the EPA in the Caribbean region include: 

 Work with partners to understand the vulnerability of coastal wetlands and their migration 

potential, and to protect the most vulnerable areas; 

 Work with partners to understand the vulnerability of coastal communities and water-related 

infrastructure and to increase their resilience to extreme storm events; and 

 Increase understanding of the role of multiple stressors plus climate change on ecosystems 

and water-related infrastructure. 

Strategic Issues 

 Areas with limited ability for wetlands migration will see marked reductions in their ability to 

provide ecosystem services and will be increasingly vulnerable to intense storm damage in 

the future; 

 Critical infrastructure (e.g., ports, airports, power plants, and sewage treatment facilities) in 

PR and the USVI located in the coastal zone will be vulnerable to storm surges, sea level 

rise, and the simultaneous occurrence of both; 

 Many hurricanes and coastal inundations are accompanied by heavy rains and river/stream 

floods, which impact water quality and stream morphology; 

 Rising sea levels cause intrusion of saltwater into the underground freshwater lens, 

contaminating the supply of usable ground water and reducing the freshwater supply for the 

Caribbean islands; 

 Higher ambient water temperatures and degradation of water quality, including adjustments 

in pH due to acidification, may affect production rates of aquaculture facilities and their 

susceptibility to diseases such as microbial infections and parasitic infestations. Presently, 

there are no aquaculture facilities operating in the Caribbean although a few NPDES 

permits have been issued; 

 Recent events of increased sea surface temperatures have caused stress to coral reefs in 

the USVI and PR. Increasing sea surface temperatures have the potential to reduce the 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

76 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

stability of corals, especially in the presence of stresses from the existing land-based 

sources of pollution; 

 Ocean acidification may potentially diminish the quality of the reefs by impeding the 

calcification process, increasing carbon in the water, altering ocean chemistry, and making 

calcium less available for calcification. Lower pH could also accelerate erosion of existing 

structures; and 

 Longer periods of drought are expected to occur and may produce an increase in the 

energy and costs associated with the production of drinking water. This will be particularly 

pertinent in the USVI where desalination is one of the main sources of drinking water. 

Strategic Actions 

 Support the development of LIDAR images for the Caribbean Region in order to provide 

more refined data for modeling purposes; 

 Support the integration of climate change considerations into FEMA, Commonwealth, and 

municipal hazard mitigation plans; 

 Promote increased use of GI in the Caribbean to enhance resilience by absorbing and 

infiltrating stormwater and preventing flooding and pollution impacts by providing outreach 

and education to the public and to design and building professionals. Support PR in the 

development of tsunami-ready communities; 

 Partner with the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CariCOOS) and the National 

Weather Service, and other relevant federal and Commonwealth agencies, to disseminate 

information and provide outreach to managers of PR’s water infrastructure in regard to 

current trends; 

 Support and encourage increased resilience of water infrastructure through physical 

upgrades, geomorphic feature protection (e.g., barrier islands, mangrove islets, eolianites, 

beach rock, and dunes), building code revisions, and working with insurance companies to 

ensure they implement disaster risk reduction measures in the underwriting criteria of their 

policies; and 

 Engage Environmental Justice (EJ) populations in education on climate change impacts 

and planning for climate change adaptation. 

Pacific Islands Region 

 Region 9: http://www.epa.gov/region09/climatechange/. 

The Pacific Islands region in EPA Region 9 encompasses the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the 

United States affiliated Pacific islands, including the territories of American Samoa, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam. 

The Pacific Islands are more vulnerable to climate change than nearly any other region in the 

United States. Key vulnerabilities include availability of freshwater, adverse impacts to coastal 

and marine ecosystems, and exposure to hazards including sea level rise and inundation. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

77 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Goals 

 Design and build infrastructure that can withstand storms, flooding, salt spray, and fire; 

 Protect existing drinking water supplies and ensure adequate supplies for communities 

dependent on disappearing sources; 

 Encourage communities and utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and implement 

resulting recommendations; 

 Work with local governments on disaster planning and response, and long term plans to 

protect infrastructure and human safety; 

 Protect coral reefs, mangroves and other sensitive ecosystems; and 

 Educate local and cultural leaders on the impacts of climate change and engage them in 

planning for climate change adaptation. 

Strategic Issues 

 Rising sea levels, higher sea temperatures, and ocean acidification associated with climate 

change are further degrading coral reefs already stressed by overfishing and pollution. 

Their loss diminishes ecological heritage, shoreline protection, food supply from the 

sea, and results in a decline in income from ecotourism in the Pacific Island communities 

where tourism is one of the largest industries; 

 The western Pacific already experiences the highest rate of Category 4 and 5 storms. 

Climate change may bring more frequent and higher energy storms resulting in potentially 

catastrophic damage to island infrastructure. This degree of damage could cripple the 

economies of Pacific Island communities for significant periods of time, not only impairing 

economic development but also the ability of local government to ensure delivery of basic 

water and sewer and other public health services; and 

 Sea level rise has multiple implications for Pacific Island communities: 

 For the low-lying atolls, entire islands may be submerged within a generation and may 

result in environmental refugees seeking new homes; 

 For some low-lying islands, sea level rise can result in “wash over,” in which islands, or 

portions of islands, are submerged by waves during large storm events. This results in 

salt water contamination of agricultural lands, significantly decreasing the productivity 

of those lands. This loss of agricultural productivity has an acute impact on the largely 

subsistence-based economies of these communities; 

 For many of the islands, sea level rise has an immediate, and accelerated impact on 

coastal erosion, which affects water quality, coral reef health, coastal infrastructure, 

available land, and culturally significant sites; and 

 Sea level rise increases the potential for salt water intrusion into the sole source 

aquifers upon which many Pacific Islands rely for drinking water. There are few or no 

readily accessible alternative drinking water options when a community is confronted 

with the loss of productivity of a sole source aquifer. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

78 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Strategic Actions 

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies, as well as local educational institutions, to 

ensure protocols are in place to identify key drinking water resources, monitor water quality, 

and develop long-term drinking water protection and management plans; 

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies to leverage capital improvement funds to 

develop water and wastewater infrastructure designed to be resilient to the effects of 

climate change; 

 Develop biological criteria as a component of water quality standards as a tool for coral reef 

protection; 

 Use permitting authorities and enforcement to protect drinking water and near-shore water 

quality consistent with the requirements of the Clean Water Act; 

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies to invest in local utility managers and 

employees for the long-term to ensure they have the skills and resources to consistently 

protect public health and safety, even in the event of catastrophic storm events. 

Collaboratively identify best management practices that are institutionalized through 

standard operating procedures; 

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies to reduce reliance on fossil fuels through 

energy audits, conservation incentives, and investment in renewable energy sources. This 

approach will reduce water quality impacts associated with oil spills and develop an energy 

infrastructure that may be more resilient to severe storm events; 

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies, as well as local educational institutions, to 

reduce stressors to coral reef health (e.g., sedimentation and impacts from fishing and 

recreation) and to protect coral reef ecosystems in perpetuity; 

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies to build awareness of the potential effects of 

climate change and opportunities to reduce GHG emissions and adapt to impacts; and 

 Engage cultural leaders and EJ populations in education on climate change impacts and 

planning for climate change adaptation. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

79 |Climate Regions 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

VI.Cross-Cutting Program Support 

A. Goal 17: Communication, Collaboration, and Training 

Strategic Action 49: Continue building the communication, collaboration, and training 

mechanisms needed to effectively increase adaptive capacity at the federal, tribal, state, 

and local levels. 

The NWP will continue building the communication, collaboration, and training mechanisms 

needed to effectively increase adaptive capacity at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels. 

Communicating Effectively 

Communication involves three elements: the audience, the message, and the medium. This 

2012 Strategy describes the messages, including: 

 Climate change poses threats to water resources and the NWP’s mission; 

 Ecosystem services are valuable resources for modulating climate impacts; 

 Programmatic actions are being taken to address climate change; 

 Information and tools are needed to inform action; and 

 Collaboration is essential for shared learning and problem solving. 

As described earlier, there are many stakeholders with interests and responsibilities for 

protecting the nation’s water resources. Some of the audiences the NWP intends to 

communicate with include: 

 State and tribal co-regulators who need information and tools to adapt their programs; 

 The water utility operators who need tools to calibrate their design and management 

practices for protecting infrastructure from climate change impacts; 

 Natural resource professionals who protect water quality and ecological integrity from 

compounding stressors, including climate change; 

 Tribal communities that have geographically and culturally specific challenges for protecting 

and preserving their fresh water resources and communities; 

 Communities that are at risk from sea level rise, flood and drought; 

 The public and stakeholders who want to know how the federal government is addressing 

climate change; and 

 Federal agencies with which EPA collaborates. 

In addition to the avenues discussed above throughout this document for training and tool 

development, the NWP will provide communication outlets including: 

 NWP Climate Change Website; 

 Climate Ready Water Utilities website and toolbox; 

 Water and Climate Change E-Newsletter; 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

80 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Webcasts and Webinars – to provide 

opportunities for targeted training; 

 Ongoing dialogue forums with 

stakeholder groups and co-regulators 

such as the State-Tribal Climate 

Change Council (STC3); 

 Speaker Series – for EPA employees to 

hear from experts; and 

 Annual reports and periodic updates. 

The NWP will continue working with 

partners and stakeholders to develop 

communication mechanisms to expand 

access to information and resources for 

general and targeted audiences. 

Working in Collaboration 

Examples of Collaborative 


Partnership Programs
 

 Infrastructure: 

 Source Water Collaborative 

 Rural Community Assistance Partnership 

 Capacity Development Program 

 Effective Utility Management 

 Ocean and Coastal Waters: 

 National Ocean Council 

 National Estuary Programs 

 Watersheds and Wetlands: 

 Healthy Watersheds Initiative 

 Water Quality: 

 Green Infrastructure Initiative 

Existing EPA partnership programs provide ready access to networks of key entities and can be 

leveraged to address the challenges posed by climate change while minimizing the ‘overhead’ 

involved in collaboration. Examples of existing programs and initiatives are referenced 

throughout this document, some of which are noted in the adjacent text box. 

Examples of Regional Collaborations 

 Region 1 Federal Partners Group 

 http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/energy/adap 

tation-efforts-epane.html. 

 Region 4 Southeast Natural Resources 

Leadership Group 

 http://www.epa.gov/region4/topics/envmanag 

ement/senrlg/index.htm. 

 Region 9 – Water-Energy Team of the 

California Climate Action Team ((WET-CAT) 

 http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/wetcat/inde 

x.html. 

 Great Lakes Statement of Common Purpose 

 http://collaborate.csc.noaa.gov/nroc/default.a 

spx. 

 Gulf of Mexico Alliance Action Plan II for 

Healthy and Resilient Coasts, 2009-2014 

The NWP will work to expand 

opportunities for dialogue through both 

formal and informal discussion. For 

example, the Advisory Committee on 

Water Information (ACWI) and the 

National Drinking Water Advisory 

Committee (NDWAC) are key Federal 

Advisory Committee (FACAs). The 

NWP’s State-Tribal Climate Change 

Council (STC3) is an important 

discussion forum with state and tribal coregulators. Collaboration with sector 

partnerships are particularly important 

avenues for promoting research, pilots, 

and communication, including 

associations such as the Water Utility 

Climate Alliance (WUCA), WRF and the 

WERF. 

Climate impacts are local as are 

adaptation strategies – hence many EPA 

Regions are building collaborations with 

 http://www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org/pdfs/ap2 

_final2.pdf?#Page=8. 

state, Tribal, and local government 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

81 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Examples of Federal Collaborative Forums 

 Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task 

Force, Freshwater Workgroup 

 OSTP Subcommittee on Water Availability and 

Quality 

 U.S. Global Change Research Program 

 Climate Change and Water Working Group 

agencies as well as with other 

federal agencies to more effectively 

deliver services. Information on 

Regional partnerships can be found 

in Section IV, Geographic Climate 

Regions. 

Federal partnerships are also 

essential to leverage resources and 

build national capability for 

adaptation. The NWP will continue to strengthen and expand our coordination on climate 

change adaptation and mitigation with other federal agencies at both the national and regional 

levels. 

Delivering Tools and Training 

Many of the Strategic Actions 

throughout this 2012 Strategy are 

driven by the over-riding need to 

improve the translation of climate 

impact projections into materials 

tailored for NWP partners and 

constituents, including regionally 

specific information. The NWP will 

work to make available information, 

including training to help 

practitioners apply new tools. The 

NWP will collaborate with various 

forums for delivering the information 

and training. 

National Water Program 

Implementation 

 The core CWA, SDWA and 

other statutorily authorized 

programs within the NWP have 

training forums that reach out 

to practitioners, such as the 

NPDES Permit Writers training, 

Federal Sources of Climate Change Information 

 EPA 

 Water & Climate: 

http://water.epa.gov/scitech/climatechange 

 Climate Ready Water Utilities: 

http://www.water.epa.gov/crwu 

 Climate Ready Estuaries: 

http://www.epa.gov/cre/ 

 Climate Change: 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ 

 NOAA 

 Climate Service: 

http://www.climate.gov 

 RISAs: 

http://www.research.noaa.gov/climate/t_regional.html 

 Coasts: 

http://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/index.html 

 Interagency 

 USGCRP: 

http://www.globalchange.gov 

 Smartcoasts: 

http://stormsmartcoasts.org/
 

http://www.epa.gov/adr/index.html
 

the Watershed Academy, the Water Quality Standards Academy, and the Drinking Water 

Capacity Development Program. 

 Partner organizations host and co-sponsor training sessions, such as those based on the 

Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy to promote best 

practices for effective utility management, energy management, and advanced asset 

management, and related topics such as GI and LID. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

82 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

 Conflict Resolution is a field that can help to build skills for collaborating and consensus 

building for working effectively with stakeholders. The NWP will work with partners and 

stakeholders to draw upon the expertise and resources of the Conflict Prevention and 

Resolution Center (CPRC) within EPA’s Office of General Counsel as well as the Regional 

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialists to conduct training. 

Decision Support 

 The USGCRP delivers science and science translation to inform adaptation planning. 

 Federal partners are building regional capabilities, such as the National Integrated Drought 

Information System (NIDIS), NOAA RISAs, and the DOI LCCs and CSCs. 

 The interagency Climate Change and Water Working Group (CCAWWG), under the 

leadership of the Bureau of Reclamation, is working to establish a training program for 

water resource managers. 

Table 2
 

2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan
 

National Water Program Commitments
 

Goal 1: Taking: Action on Climate Change and Improving Air Quality. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 

develop adaptation strategies to address climate change, and protect and improve air quality. 

Objective 1.1: Address Climate Change. Reduce the threats posed by climate change by reducing greenhouse 

gas emissions and taking actions that help communities and ecosystems become more resilient to the effects of 

climate change. 

Water-Related Strategic Measures: 

 By 2015, additional programs from across EPA will promote practices to help Americans save energy and 

conserve resources, leading to expected greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 740.1 MMTCO2 Eq. from a 

baseline without adoption of efficient practices. 

The WaterSense Program will contribute to achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals through 2015 

 By 2015, EPA will integrate climate change science trend and scenario information into five major scientific 

models and/or decision-support tools used in implementing Agency environmental management programs to 

further EPA’s mission, consistent with existing authorities. 

Under the CRWU initiative, the NWP will deploy an upgraded version of the CREAT, as well as a 


comprehensive toolbox of water-related climate resources by the end of 2012, to better assist water and
 

wastewater utilities in becoming more resilient to climate change.
 

 By 2015, EPA will account for climate change by integrating climate change science trend and scenario 

information into five rule-making processes to further EPA’s mission, consistent with existing authorities. 

The NWP will incorporate climate change considerations in the development and implementation of a 


rulemaking by 2015.
 

 By 2015, EPA will build resilience to climate change by integrating considerations of climate change impacts 

and adaptive measures into five major grant, loan, contract, or technical assistance programs to further 

EPA’s mission, consistent with existing authorities. 

The NWP will help NEP grantees consider as a potential priority climate adaptation and resilience in their 

Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans s and develop climate adaptation plans and 

implementation strategies where considered a priority. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

83 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

B. Goal 18: Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes 

Strategic Action 50: Adopt a phased approach to track programmatic progress towards 

Strategic Actions; achieve commitments reflected in the Agency Strategic Plan; work with 

the EPA Work Group to develop outcome measures. 

Tracking and measuring progress towards a stated goal provides information about the efficacy 

of the actions taken to inform adaptive management; provides a way to share information and 

lessons learned with others working toward similar ends; and provides transparency to 

stakeholders who have an interest in the process or outcome. Devising meaningful and practical 

indicators for tracking progress, however, is complex. It is preferable to measure outcomes 

rather than outputs, but outcomes often take many years to realize and may be hard to quantify. 

Tracking progress for climate change adaptation poses its own challenges, including how to 

evaluate avoided losses. 

In addition, the 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan includes measures for climate change adaptation 

and mitigation actions (see Table 2, above) and this 2012 Strategy reflects the NWPs’ 

commitment to achieve these measures. The EPA Climate Work Group has undertaken a 

process to refine and update the Agency’s measures to reflect outcomes towards desired 

objectives. The NWP will work with the Agency Work Group to develop outcome measures 

applicable to the NWP. 

NWP Phased Approach for Indicators of Progress 

Currently, the most amenable approach for evaluating progress is to assess institutional 

progress toward becoming a resilient and adaptive program. The NWP proposes to adopt a 

phased approach that uses indicators of progress which emphasizes peer-to-peer learning 

rather than a top-down mandate. A similar approach is in use in the United Kingdom (UK 

DEFRA 2010). 

Initially, the NWP Phased Approach will track the NWP’s institutional process and progress in 

incorporating climate change considerations into EPA programs. Outputs will not be counted per 

se; rather, the collectivity of actions and their products will demonstrate the weight of evidence 

for determining the status of adaptation. An annual internal reporting process will assemble 

information for evaluating and reporting progress. The elements to be assessed include 

progress toward achieving the stated Goals and Strategic Actions (headquarters programs); and 

progress toward implementing Regional strategies. The NWP will work with its State-Tribal 

Climate Change Council and other partners to refine this approach, and develop a model that 

could be useable by others at their discretion. 

Table 3 below presents a summary of the proposed phases and includes an initial assessment 

of the progress towards adapting the NWP as a whole. Recognizing that it may take years or 

decades to achieve adaptive preparedness and resilience, the NWP designed phases for which 

progress could be demonstrated within a relatively short time frame (1-3 years) . 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

84 |Program Support 
 

 

Table 3. Phase of Adaptive Management
 

Full Progress Substantial Progress Initiated 

NWP Phases Explanation Examples of Evidence of Achievement 

NWP 

Status 

1. Initiation •	 Conduct a screening 

assessment of 

potential implications 

of climate change to 

mission, programs, 

and operations. 

2. Assessment 

3. Response 

Development 

•	 Conduct a broader 

review to understand 

how climate change 

affects the resources 

in question. 

•	 Work with 

stakeholders to 

develop an 

understanding of the 

implications of climate 

change to the mission, 

programs, and 

operations. 

•	 Identify changes 

necessary to continue 

to reach program 

mission and goals; 

•	 Develop initial action 

plan. 

•	 Identify and seek the 

research, information 

and tools needed to 

support actions. 

•	 Begin to build the 

body of tools, 

information and 

partnerships needed 

to build capacity 

internally and 

externally. 

•	 Preliminary information is developed to 

evaluate relevance of climate change to the 

mission or program; a decision is made as to 

whether to prepare a response to climate 

change; further exploration of climate change 

implications has been authorized. 

•	 Accountabilities and responsibilities are 

assigned at appropriate levels within the 

organization and resources are available to 

develop a more in-depth assessment. 

•	 Review science literature and assessments to 

understand how climate change affects the 

resources being protected (threat to mission); 

Engage internal staff and external 

stakeholders in evaluation. 

•	 Identify climate change issues and concerns 

and communicate with internal and external 

stakeholders and partners. 

•	 Identify which specific programs are 

threatened and what specific information or 

tools need to be developed. 

•	 Communicate findings to partners and 

stakeholders and engage them in dialogue on 

building adaptive capacity. 

•	 Develop initial program vision and goals for 

responding to climate change. 

•	 Identify needed response actions or changes 

that will allow the organization to begin to 

address climate impacts on its mission. 

•	 Initiate strategies and actions in a few key 

areas to begin to build organizational ability to 

use climate information in decision processes. 

•	 Identify program partners’ needs for building 

adaptive capacity. 

•	 Begin working with an external ‘community of 

practice’ to engage in tool and program 

development. 

•	 Rudimentary methods are put in place to track 

progress. 

•	 Develop a research strategy and partnerships 

to obtain additional needed research. 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

85 |Program Support 
 

 

 

Table 3. Phase of Adaptive Management
 

Full Progress Substantial Progress Initiated 

NWP Phases Explanation Examples of Evidence of Achievement 

NWP 

Status 

4. Initial 

Implementation 

5. Robust 

Implementation 

•	 Initiate actions in 

selected priority 

programs or projects. 

•	 Programs are 

underway and lessons 

learned are being 

applied to additional 

programs and 

projects. 

•	 Make it clear within the organization that 

incorporating climate change into programs is 

critical 

•	 Initiate actions and plans identified in Step 3. 

•	 Initiate cooperative projects with partners. 

•	 Develop a range of needed information and 

tools. 

•	 Begin to institute changes to incorporate 

climate change into core programs. 

•	 Some program partners have begun to 

implement response actions. 

6. Mainstreaming •	 Climate is an 

embedded, 

component of the 

program. 

•	 Lessons learned are evaluated and strategies 

are refined. 

•	 Efforts are initiated to consider climate 

change in additional, or more complex, 

program elements. 

•	 Continue to institute institutional changes to 

incorporate climate change into core 

programs. 

•	 External communities of practice are in place 

to support ongoing capacity development. 

•	 The organization's culture and policies are 

aligned with responding to climate change. 

•	 All staff have a basic understanding of climate 

change causes and impacts. 

•	 All relevant programs, activities, and 

decisions processes intrinsically incorporate 

climate change . 

•	 Methods for evaluating outcomes are in place. 

7. Monitoring and •	 Continue to monitor •	 Progress is evaluated and needed changes 

Adaptive and integrate are implemented. 

Management performance, new •	 As impacts of climate change unfold, climate information, and change impacts and organizational responses lessons learned into are reassessed. 

programs and plans. 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

86 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

C.	 Goal 19: Climate Change and Water Research Needs 

Strategic Action 51: Work with ORD, other water science agencies, and the water research 

community to further define needs and develop research opportunities to deliver the 

information needed to support implementation of the 2012 Strategy, including providing 

the decision support tools needed by water resource managers. 

This section describes the types of research questions that need to be addressed to support the 

Strategic Actions in this 2012 Strategy. In general, research for adaptation should provide 

decision support to manage risk in an evolving context under ranges of uncertainty. 

The NWP collaborates with and relies on the broader research community including EPA ORD, 

federal science agencies (e.g., USGS, NOAA, and the USGCRP), drinking water and water 

quality research associations (e.g., WRF and WERF), academia, and others. The NWP is also a 

member of CCAWWG, a “working level” forum to share expertise and planning to build climate 

adaptation tools and methods across federal agencies. These collaborations have already 

produced a range of reports and inventories on research needs and activities. (See: CCAWWG, 

2011; WRF, 2011; EPA-ORD 2012.) The NWP will continue to work with the water research 

community to further define needs and develop collaborative and coordinated research 

opportunities to deliver the information needed by water resource managers. 

Cross-Cutting Research Needs 

A.	 Data: Update data for precipitation, storm frequency, and streamflow, and develop new 

methods for analyzing projected changes, in collaboration with other federal agencies. 

1.	 Of particular concern are the storm frequency, duration, and intensity estimates 

and low flow conditions in rivers and streams at the HUC 12 watershed level; 

2.	 Improve methods to address non-stationarity, particularly improving clarity of 

precipitation data used in wastewater, drinking water and stormwater 

management systems design, operation and planning (e.g. TP40, Atlas 14); and 

3.	 Enhance flow estimation using NHDPlus. 

B.	 Decision Support: Integrate non-stationarity and recent data into decision support tools 

for water utilities and water quality managers to use in planning across a range of 

plausible climate change scenarios. 

1.	 Research Translation: Produce annual or biennial synthesis reports of recent 

research and implications for decision makers to inform the water resource 

management community. 

2.	 Modify climate model outputs that can be used as inputs for hydrologic and 

management models at the spatial and temporal scales relevant to decision 

makers; 

3.	 Develop regionally-specific information (include description of observed and 

projected impacts, scenarios, etc.) for communicating with communities and 

tribes; 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

87 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

4.	 Develop models that integrate hydrology, land cover, air quality and economics 

for comprehensive assessment and comparison of climate change mitigation and 

adaptation policies for local, state and federal governments; and 

5.	 Develop a rapid response protocol to incorporate the results of the ongoing 

monitoring data into permitting, planning, and resource allocation decisions. 

C.	 Metrics: Develop measures and metrics to track and determine progress in climate 

change adaptation and preparedness. 

Research to Support Infrastructure 

A.	 Water Demand Management: Design metrics for water and energy efficiency in key 

sectors (e.g. municipal use; energy production and agriculture). Produce methods and 

technology transfers in various sectors to reduce water demand. 

B.	 Water Supply Management: Develop alternative and nonconventional water supplies 

that will relieve pressure on fresh water sources and ensure the protection of current and 

future sources of drinking water. 

C.	 Energy-Water Nexus: Develop zero-net energy strategies through Life Cycle Analysis 

of water/energy consumption and optimization and co-generation. 

D.	 Aquifer Storage and Recharge: Research into technologies to minimize mobilization of 

geologic chemicals/radionuclides and the formation of new drinking water contaminants 

by injectate that is already treated to national drinking water standards. Consider natural 

attenuation of microbes in different soil and geologic profiles and disinfectant byproducts 

from treated injectate. Also identify configurations that minimize adverse effects on 

surface water/ground water interchange, e.g., that maintain healthy instream flows to 

support aquatic habitats. 

E.	 Economics: Conduct cost-benefit analysis of climate change adaptation strategies. 

Evaluate the cost of adapting versus the comparative costs of business-as-usual 

approaches. Calculate the value of built infrastructure at risk from climate change 

especially from seal level rise and flooding and use this information in economic 

assessments of potential adaptation strategies. 

Research to Support Watersheds and Wetlands 

A.	 Monitoring: Identify aquatic ecosystem responses to changes in temperature, 

precipitation and sea level rise. Identify water chemistry changes including possible 

acidification effects that may be occurring in freshwater and estuarine systems. Develop 

water monitoring designs to track parameters relevant to climate change impacts. 

Identify and measure shifts over time in the condition of water resources attributed to 

climate change. 

B.	 Hydrology: Improve the understanding of climate change on the hydrologic function of 

wetlands and in providing ecological services. Increase the understanding of the 

hydrological connections between surface water and groundwater to inform IWRM. 

Model potential changes to flood regulation, ground water recharge, and surface water 

base flow given scenarios of wetlands loss. Assess different types of wetlands’ capacity 

to adapt to climate change. 

C.	 Co-benefits: Characterize co-benefits of healthy watersheds, green infrastructure and 

site conditions where GI is cost effective and where it is not: 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

88 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

1.	 Identify climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that lead to water 

quality improvements such as increased groundwater recharge and stormwater 

runoff mitigation and reduced cost for stormwater management and green space 

connectivity; and. 

2.	 Develop method to measure carbon sequestration potential for aquatic 

ecosystems (e.g., wetland types and forested watersheds). 

Research to Support Coastal and Ocean Planning 

A.	 Ocean Acidification: Understand likely impacts of ocean acidification to coastal 

systems/system components, and identify and fill information gaps. Assess relative 

vulnerabilities in order to identify sites appropriate for action to increase coral reef 

resiliency. 

B.	 Sea Level Rise: Accurate mapping of relative historic and projected sea level rise and 

its impacts. Determine which coastal wetlands and ecosystems to protect or restore and 

those that are “lost”. 

C.	 Temperature: Investigate potential impacts of climate change such as warming water 

temperatures on eutrophication and ecology. 

Research to Support Water Quality 

A.	 Pathogens: Evaluate potential changes in exposure factors and assessment methods 

for waterborne pathogens that result from climate change. Develop models to better 

understand how increased water temperature affects pathogen survival and proliferation, 

drinking water treatment and sanitary waste treatment requirements based on WQBELs 

or ELGs. Identify contaminants that may more greatly affect PWS non-compliance by 

increases or decreases in precipitation or ground water levels. 

B.	 Precipitation: Identify impacts from changes, such as extreme precipitation events, that 

may increase sediment loading or scouring, nutrient, pathogen and toxic contaminant 

loads to water bodies. 

C.	 Nitrogen Cycle: Assess air-water interactions (i.e., sources and sinks) of nitrogen and 

develop strategies to reduce impacts to aquatic ecosystems and ground and surface 

drinking water sources. 

D.	 Flow: Characterize ecological flow criteria for aquatic species to protect designated uses 

given climate change intensifying the competition for finite water resources. The criteria 

may be useful in developing TMDLs. 

Research to Support Tribes 

A.	 TEK: Strengthen the ability to incorporate tribal traditional knowledge into adaptation 

strategies relevant to tribes. 

B.	 Overall: Include development of tribal-specific elements in overall research strategies to 

understand climate change impacts and to develop adaptation strategies. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

89 |Program Support 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Appendix A: List of Abbreviations
 

ACWI Advisory Committee on Water Information 

ASR Aquifer Storage & Recovery 

AWWA American Water Works Association 

BLM Bureau of Land Management 

BOEMR Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation& Energy 

CCAWWG Climate Change Adaptation Work Group 

CCL Contaminant Candidate List 

CEQ White House Council on Environmental Quality 

CMSP Coastal Marine Spatial Planning 

CRE Climate Ready Estuaries 

CREAT Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool 

CRWU Climate Ready Water Utilities 

CT4CW Coming Together for Clean Water 

CWA Clean Water Act 

DMR Discharge Monitoring Report 

DOE Department of Energy 

DOT Department of Transportation 

DWSRF Drinking Water State Revolving Fund 

EAT Energy Audit Tool 

ESA Endangered Species Act 

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 

GHG Greenhouse gas 

GI Green Infrastructure 

HAB Harmful algal bloom 

HWQS Hydrologic and Water Quality System 

ICCATF Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force 

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management 

LCCs Landscape Conservation Cooperatives 

LID Low Impact Development 

LIDAR Light Detection And Ranging 

MPRSA Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act 

MWDs Municipal Water Districts 

NAP National Adaptation Plan 

NDWAC National Drinking Water Advisory Council 

NEP National Estuary Program 

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act 

NHDPlus National Hydrography Dataset Plus 

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service 

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NOC National Ocean Council 

NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

90 |Appendix A 
 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Appendix A: List of Abbreviations
 

NPDWR National Primary Drinking Water Regulations 

NPS National Park Service 

NRC National Research Council 

NWCA National Wetland Condition Assessment 

NWI National Wetland Inventory 

NWP National Water Program 

OAR Office of Air and Radiation 

OCSPP Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention 

OGC Office of General Counsel 

OGWDW Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OW) 

OITA Office of International and Tribal Affairs 

OM&R Operations, maintenance and replacement 

OP Office of Policy 

ORD Office of Research and Development 

OST Office of Science and Technology (OW) 

OSTP White House Office of Science & Technology Policy 

OSWER Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

OUST Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OSWER) 

OW Office of Water 

OWM Office of Wastewater Management (OW) 

OWOW Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (OW) 

RISAs Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments 

SAP Synthesis and Assessment Product 

SDWA Safe Drinking Water Act 

SWAQ Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality 

TMDLs Total Maximum Daily Loads 

USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

UIC Underground Injection Control 

USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

USBR U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture 

USDW Underground source of drinking water 

USFS U.S. Forest Service 

USGCRP U.S. Global Change Research Program 

USGS U.S. Geological Survey 

WQS Water quality standards 

WUE Water Use Efficiency 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

91 |Appendix A 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

92 |Appendix B

Appendix B: Principles for an Energy Water Future 

The Foundation for a Sustainable America 

The nexus between energy and water is an increasingly important area for focus. There are 

significant societal and environmental benefits to be derived from improving coordination 

between the two sectors. Government should take a leadership role in this relationship and lead 

by example. EPA is proposing principles for government, service providers, and ratepayers to 

foster valuable collaboration in both the water and energy sectors to work together to meet our 

water and energy needs nationally and locally. The principles also serve as a reminder that 

necessary tradeoffs within one decision, e.g., stricter water treatment levels, can be mitigated by 

efforts elsewhere, e.g., reducing demand for energy/water. 

Efficiency in the use and generation of energy and water should form the 

foundation of how we develop, distribute, recover, and use energy and water. EPA 

supports: 

 Encouraging energy and water efficiency by the ratepayer through the use of efficient 

products, like ENERGY STAR- and WaterSense-certified products, supplemented by 

informed and wise use of resources;

 Improving system-level energy and water efficiency by water, wastewater, stormwater, and 

energy utilities and encourage strategic investments in efficiency;

 Using full cost rate structures while ensuring access to clean and safe water for low income 

households;

 Recognizing and reducing the embedded water and energy in manufactured and 

agricultural products; and 

 Relying on education and outreach, in collaboration with local communities, to be at the 

forefront of encouraging efficiency. 

The generation, transmission and use of energy should have the smallest impact 

on water resources as possible, in terms of water quality and water quantity 

possible. EPA supports: 

 Reducing consumption or use of water for producing energy and fuels: reduce, recover, 

reuse, and recycle;

 Analyzing, recognizing and minimizing any impacts on downstream water quality, water 

quantity, and the aquatic environment including wetlands when choosing between sources 

of energy; and

 Practicing good stewardship to minimize potential impacts and avoid contaminants that 

reduce water’s value or require high amounts of energy for treatment.

The pumping, treating, distribution, use, collection, reuse and ultimate disposal of 

water should have the smallest impact on energy resources as possible. EPA 

supports: 

 Creating an energy efficiency management plan using established energy auditing tools; 

 Addressing leaks in the water distribution system; 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

93 |Appendix B

 Using nearby water sources where available, including rain harvesting and recycled water; 

 Treating water to a level that matches the end use; and

 Avoiding unnecessary transport of water and wastewater for treatment or disposal.

Waste water treatment facilities, which treat human and animal waste, should be 

viewed as renewable resource recovery facilities that produce clean water, recover 

energy and generate nutrients. EPA supports: 

 Using wastewater and associated organic solids and treatment byproducts as a source of 

renewable energy, such as methane gas, that can be used by treatment plants to reduce 

net ‘on-grid’ energy use;

 Using wastewater for irrigation, accounting for the nutrients in the water as way to reduce 

the need for additional fertilizers;

 Recycling or reusing water for appropriate uses, minimizing energy used for treatment, and 

becoming a reliable source for the future; and

 Extracting and using nutrients, fats, oils and grease from wastewater.

The water and energy sectors – government, utility, manufacturers, and consumers 

– should move toward integrated resource management for energy and water from 

source, production and generation to end user. EPA supports: 

 Encouraging the water and energy sectors – both governments and utilities –to continue to 

align themselves to breakdown institutional barriers, improve transparency, and maximize 

efficiencies;

 Encouraging government agencies to look across missions and private utilities to look 

across sectors to achieve integrated resource management, maximize efficiencies and 

avoid unintended consequences; 

 Encouraging government and service providers to leverage and expand upon existing 

successes and institutions; and

 Promoting transparency and collaboration related to research, funding and policy within 

institutions and across sectors, which are essential and will help to leverage lessons 

learned and expand successes. 

Maximize comprehensive, societal benefits. EPA supports: 

 Articulating and recognizing the benefits for the larger sphere of influence of public and 

private investment – beyond direct cost savings – in energy and water efficiencies; 

 Enhancing, promoting, and targeting financial incentives and other societal benefits, 

including market-based benefits such as rebates and government programs such as state 

revolving funds, taxes and tax credits; and

 Planning to build resiliency for climate change impacts on water infrastructure and water 

quality to minimize vulnerabilities. 
 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Appendix C: References 

BOR, 2010. Memorandum of Understanding for Hydropower, Among the Department of Interior, 

Department of Energy, and the Army, March 24, 2010. Available at: 

http://www.usbr.gov/power/SignedHydropowerMOU.pdf 

BOR, 2011. SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) - Reclamation Climate Change and Water 

2011, April 2011. Available at: http://www.usbr.gov/climate/SECURE/. 

Brekke, 2009. Climate change and water resources management—A federal perspective: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1331, Brekke, L.D., Kiang, J.E., Olsen, J.R., Pulwarty, R.S., Raff, 

D.A., Turnipseed, D.P., Webb, R.S., and White, K.D., 2009. Available at: 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1331/. 

CA, 2011a. IWRM Handbook, California Department of Water Resources, available at: 

www.water.ca.gov/irwm/. 

CA, 2011b. Embedded Energy in Water - Pilot Programs Impact Evaluation Final Report, 

ECONorthwest, March 9, 2011. Prepared for the California Public Utilities Commission Energy 

Division. Available at: 

http://www.energydataweb.com/cpucFiles/33/FinalEmbeddedEnergyPilotEMVReport_1.pdf. 

CBPO, 2010. Chesapeake Bay Executive Order Strategy, May 12, 2010. Available at: 

http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net/post/New-Federal-Strategy-for-ChesapeakeLaunches-Major-Initiatives-and-Holds-Government-Accountable-for-Progress.aspx. 

CCAWWG, 2011. Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and 

Management: User Needs for Improving Tools and Information. Available at: 

http://www.usbr.gov/research/climate/. 

CEQ, 2009. Executive Order 13514 Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and 

Economic Performance,” Section 16. October 5, 2009. Available at: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/2009fedleader_eo_rel.pdf. 

CEQ, 2010. Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, report to the President, 

October 4, 2010, and Water Workgroup Report, October 5, 2010. Available at: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/adaptation. 

CEQ, 2011a. National Action Plan: Priorities for Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing 

Climate, Report of the Freshwater Workgroup, Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task 

Force, October 28, 2011. Available at: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ceq/2011_national_action_plan.pdf. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

94 |Appendix C 
 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

CEQ, 2011b . Instructions for Implementing Climate Change Adaptation Planning In Accordance 

With Executive Order 13514, Federal Agency Climate Change Adaptation Planning ­

Implementing Instructions, March 4, 2011. Available at: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ceq/adaptation_final_implementing_instr 

uctions_3_3.pdf. 

CSO, 2011. Coastal States Organization web site, accessed January, 2011. Available at: 

http://www.coastalstates.org/ 

DOE, 2011. U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, available at: 

http://www.eere.energy.gov/. 

DOE, 2012. Secure Water Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), Section 9505 Report to Congress 

on the effects of climate change on federal hydropower systems. Forthcoming. Available at: 

http://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/climate-change-impacts 

Dore, M. and I. Burton, 2001. The Costs of Adaptation to Climate Change in Canada: A 

Stratified Estimate by Sectors and Regions—Social Infrastructure. Climate Change Laboratory, 

Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario. 117 pp. 

EPA. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Change website. Accessed June 13, 2011. 

Available at: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/. 

EPA, 2004. Guidelines for Water Reuse. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/625/R-04/108, 

September 2004. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/ord/NRMRL/pubs/625r04108/625r04108.pdf. 

EPA, 2007. Distribution System Inventory, Integrity and Water Quality. Environmental Protection 

Agency, January 2007. Available at: 

http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/disinfection/tcr/pdfs/issuepaper_tcr_ds-inventory.pdf. 

EPA 2008a. National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA 800-R-08-001, September 2008. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/scitech/climatechange/strategy.cfm. 

EPA, 2008b. Ensuring a Sustainable Future: An Energy management Guidebook for 

Wastewater and Water Utilities. Environmental Protection Agency, January 2008. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/cutting_energy.cfm. 

EPA, 2009a. Biofuels Compendium. Environmental Protection Agency, July 21, 2009. Available 

at: http://www.epa.gov/oust/altfuels/bfcompend.htm. 

EPA, 2009b. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Environmental 

Protection Agency, March 12, 2009. Available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

95 |Appendix C 
 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

EPA, 2009c. National Drinking Water Advisory Council Request for Climate Ready Water 

Utilities Working Group Nominations. Federal Register, July 8, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 129, 

pp. 32595 – 32596. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2009/July/Day08/w16006.htm. 

EPA, 2009d. U.S. EPA Proceedings: First National Expert and Stakeholder Workshop on Water 

Infrastructure Sustainability and Adaptation to Climate Change. Environmental Protection 

Agency. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/wq/wrap/workshop.html. 

EPA, 2010a. FY 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. Environmental Protection Agency, September 30, 

2010. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html. 

EPA, 2010b. EPA Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses, Dec. 2010. Available at: 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/eed.nsf/webpages/Guidelines.html. 

EPA, 2010c. Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy, Oct. 4, 2010. 

Available at: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/Clean-Water-and-Drinking-WaterInfrastructure-Sustainability-Policy.cfm. 

EPA, 2010d. Control and Mitigation of Drinking Water Losses in Distribution Systems. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 816-R-10-019, November 2010. Available at: 

http://www.epa.gov/region9/waterinfrastructure/waterenergy.html. 

EPA, 2010e. Underground Injection Control Program. Environmental Protection Agency, 

December 13, 2010. Available at: http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/. 

EPA, 2010f. Compatibility of Underground Storage Tank Systems with Biofuel Blends. Federal 

Register, November 17, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 221, pp. 70241 – 70246. Available at: 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-11-17/pdf/2010-28968.pdf. 

EPA, 2011a. Policy Memo from Lisa Jackson establishing the EPA Climate WG. 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/downloads/adaptation-statement.pdf. 

EPA, 2011b. Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy To Protect America’s Waters. 

April 2011. Available at: https://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/wpcontent/uploads/2011/04/ComingTogether-for-Clean-Water-FINAL.pdf. 

EPA, 2011c. Climate Ready Water Utilities Toolbox. Available at: 

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/climate/toolbox.html. 

EPA, 2011d. Sustainable Infrastructure: Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Opportunities, 

Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed June 12, 2011. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/energyefficiency.cfm. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

96 |Appendix C 
 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

EPA, 2011e. WaterSense Program Accomplishments, Environmental Protection Agency. 

Available at: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/about_us/program_accomplishments.html. 

EPA, 2011f. WaterSense, Environmental Protection Agency. Available at: 

http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/. 

EPA, 2011g. Healthy Watersheds. Environmental Protection Agency, April 5, 2011. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/watershed/index.cfm. 

EPA, 2011h. Rolling Easements Primer. Environmental Protection Agency, June, 2011. 

Available at: www.epa.gov/cre/downloads/rollingeasementsprimer.pdf. 

EPA, 2011i. Memorandum of Agreement. DHS (FEMA and EPA. Environmental Protection 

Agency, May 12, 2010. Available at : http://www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/2011_0114_fema-epamoa.pdf. 

EPA, 2011j. Managing Wet Weather With Green Infrastructure. Environmental Protection 

Agency, January 4, 2011. Available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=298. 

EPA, 2011k. Low Impact Development. Environmental Protection Agency, March 18, 2011. 

Available at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/lid/. 

EPA, 2011l. Impaired Waters and Total Maximum Daily Loads. Environmental Protection 

Agency, March 21, 2011. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/tmdl/index.cfm. 

EPA, 2011m. Renewable Fuels: Regulations and Standards. Environmental Protection Agency, 

March 23, 2011. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/oms/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm. 

EPA, 2011n. National Aquatic Resource Surveys. Environmental Protection Agency, April 8, 

2011. Available at: http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/monitoring/nationalsurveys.cfm. 

EPA, 2012. Energy Audit Tool available at: http://www.epa.gov [forthcoming]. 

EPA-OAR. Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Opportunities. Website, accessed June 18, 

2011. Available at: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/energyefficiency.cfm. 

EPA-ORD. Science Inventory. Searchable database available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/si/ 

EPA-R9, 2011. Sustainable Water Infrastructure. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, 

December 31, 2010. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/region9/waterinfrastructure/index.html. 

EPRI, 2002. Water & Sustainability (Volume 4): U.S. Electricity Consumption for Water Supply & 

Treatment – the next half century. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) (2002). 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

97 |Appendix C 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Frederick, 2000. Frederick, K. and G. Schwarz. 2000. Socioeconomic Impacts of Climate 

Variability and Change on U.S. Water Resources. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future. 

FWP, 2011. Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Workgroup. Available at: 

http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/index.php. 

Hayhoe, K., C.P. Wake, T.G. Huntington, L. Luo, M. Schwartz, J. Sheffield, E. Wood, B. 

Anderson, J. Bradbury, A. DeGaetano, T. Troy, and D. Wolfe. Climate Dynamics. Past and 

Future Changes in Climate and Hydrological Indicators in the U.S. Northeast. 2007. Available 

at: http://www.northeastclimateimpacts.org/pdf/tech/hayhoe_et_al_climate_dynamics_2006.pdf. 

Jackson, 2006. Jackson, S. Vegetation, environment, and time: the origination and termination 

of ecosystems. Journal of Vegetation Science 17: 549-557. Available at: 

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1658/1100-9233(2006)17%5B549:VEATTO%5D2.0.CO%3B2 

Kirshen, 2006. Kirshen, R., M. Ruth and W. Anderson. 2006. “Climate’s Long term Impacts on 

Urban Infrastructures and Services: The Case of Metro Boston.” In: Regional Climate Change 

and Variability: Impacts and Responses, Eds. M. Ruth, K. Donaghy, and P. Kirshen. 

Kirshen, 2008. Kirshen, P., C. Watson, E. Douglas, A. Gontz, J. Lee, and Y. Tian. Mitigation and 

Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Coastal Flooding in the Northeastern United States 

Due to Climate Change. 2008. Available at: 

http://www.northeastclimateimpacts.org/pdf/miti/kirshen_et_al.pdf. 

MEA, 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: 

Synthesis. Washington, DC: Island Press. 

MWDSC, 2008. Integrated Resources Plan (IRP). Metropolitan Water District of Southern 

California, October 2008. Available at: 

http://www.mwdh2o.com/mwdh2o/pages/yourwater/irp/More_Water_Resources.html. 

Neumann, 2010. Neumann, J., Hudgens, D., Herter, J., Martinich, J. The economics of 

adaptation along developed coastlines. Published Online: Dec 08 2010. Available at: 

http://wires.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WiresArticle/wisId-WCC90.html. 

NDWAC, 2010. Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group, Final Report to the National 

Drinking Water Advisory Council. Dec. 9, 2010. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/climate/upload/NDWAC-overview-of-CRWU10.pdf. 

NOC, 2011. The National Ocean Council. Available at: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oceans. 

NRC 2009. Ecological Impacts of Climate Change. National Academy of Sciences. http://delsold.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/ecological_impacts.pdf. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

98 |Appendix C 
 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

NRC, 2010a-d. America’s Climate Choices. Four Volumes: a) Limiting the Magnitude of Future 

Climate Change; b) Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change; c) Advancing the Science of 

Climate Change; d) Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related to Climate Change. 

National Academies of Sciences, 2010. Available at: http://americasclimatechoices.org/. 

NRC, 2010e. Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts Over 

Decades to Millennia. http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12877. 

NRC, 2010f. Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing 

Ocean. National Academies Press, ISBN: 978-0-309-15359-1. Available at: 

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12904. 

NRC, 2011a. Warming World: Impacts by Degree. Based on the National Research Council 

report, Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts over Decades to 

Millennia (2011). . http://dels.nas.edu/materials/booklets/warming-world. 

OCWD, 2008. Orange County Water District Programs and Projects Overview. Accessed June 

13, 2011. Available at: http://www.ocwd.com/Programs---Projects/ca-17.aspx. 

TNC, 2008. Smith, M.P., Schiff, R., Olivero, A., & MacBroom, J. The Active River Area: A 

Conservation Framework for Protecting Rivers and Streams. Boston: The Nature Conservancy, 

2008. Available at: http://www.floods.org/PDF/ASFPM_TNC_Active_River_%20Area.pdf. 

UK DEFRA, 2010. Adapting to Climate Change: Guidance notes for NI188, March 2010. 

Available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/local-authorities/.; and 

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/with/localgov/indicators/documents/ni188­

guidance.pdf. 

USACE, 2010a. Building Strong Collaborative Relationships for a Sustainable Water Resources 

Future: National Report Responding to National Water Resources Challenges, August, 2010. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Available at: http://www.building-collaboration-forwater.org/Documents/nationalreport_final.pdf. 

USACE, 2010b. Federal Support Toolbox for IWRM. Available at: http://www.buildingcollaboration-for-water.org/. 

USBR, 2011. WaterSMART: Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow. U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, March 22, 2011. Available at: 

http://www.usbr.gov/WaterSMART/. 

USGCRP, 2008. Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.4: Preliminary review of adaptation 

options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources. U.S. Global Change Research 

Program. Available at: http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-4/final-report/. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

99 |Appendix C 
 

 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

USGCRP, 2009a. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, Thomas R. Karl, Jerry 

M. Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson, (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009. Available at: 

http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts. 

USGCRP, 2009b. Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.1: Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level 

Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region. U.S. Global Change Research Program. Available at: 

http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/saps/302. 

USGCRP, 2011. National Climate Assessment Workshop, Draft Report: Valuation Techniques 

and Metrics for Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation Options, available at: 

http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/NCADAC/pdf/15b.pdf. 

USGS, 2011. National Hydrography Dataset Plus website. Accessed June 13, 2011. Available 

at: http://www.horizon-systems.com/nhdplus/. 

WERF, 2010. Sustainable Treatment: Best Practices from the Strass im Zillertal Wastewater 

Treatment Plant, March, 2010. Water Environment Research Foundation, Stock No. 

OWSO4R07b. Available at: 

http://www.werf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&Template=/CustomSource/Research/P 

ublicationProfile.cfm&id=OWSO4R07b. 

WRF, 2011. The Future of Research on Climate Change. Impacts on Water. A Workshop 

Focusing on Adaptation Strategies and Information Needs. Available at: 

http://www.waterrf.org/projectsreports/publicreportlibrary/4340.pdf 

World Resources Institute. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005. Available at: 

http://www.maweb.org/documents/document.358.aspx.pdf. 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

100 |Appendix C 
 

 

 

 

 

Appendix D: Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices6 

Goals and Strategic Actions 

Lead Office 

(& Partners) 

 Infrastructure: In the face of a changing climate, resilient and adaptable drinking water, wastewater and 

stormwater utilities (water sector) ensure clean and safe water to protect the nation’s public health and 

environment by making smart investment decisions to improve the sustainability of their infrastructure and 

operations and the communities they serve, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through greater 

energy efficiency. 

Goal 1: • SA1: The CRWU program will work to improve access to OGWDW (OWM) 

Build the body of vetted climate and hydrological science, modeling, and 

information and tools assessment tools. 

needed to incorporate 

climate change into • SA2 Assist water utilities to reduce GHG emissions and OWM (OGWDW) 

planning and decision increase long-term sustainability with a combination of 

making. energy efficiency, co-generation, and renewable energy 

resources. 

• SA3: Explore climate change challenges to drinking water OGWDW 

safety and assist public water systems in meeting healthbased drinking water standards. 

• SA4: Promote sustainable design approaches to ensure OWM (OGWDW) 

the long-term sustainability of infrastructure and operations 

Goal 2: • SA5: Understand and promote through technical OWM (OGWDW) 

Support IWRM to assistance the use of water supply management 

sustainably manage strategies. 

water resources. • SA6: Evaluate and provide technical assistance on the OWM (OGWDW) 

use of water demand management strategies. 

• SA7: Increase cross-sector knowledge of water supply OW IO (All OW 

climate challenges and develop watershed specific Offices) 

information to inform decision making. 

 Watersheds & Wetlands: Watersheds are protected, maintained and restored to ensure climate resilience 

and to preserve the social and economic benefits they provide; and the nation’s wetlands are maintained and 

improved using integrated approaches that recognize their inherent value as well as their role in reducing the 

impacts of climate change. 

Goal 3: OWOW 

Identify, protect, and 

• SA8: Develop a national framework and support efforts to 

protect remaining healthy watersheds and aquatic 

maintain a network of ecosystems. 

healthy watersheds and • SA9: Collaborate with partners on terrestrial ecosystems OWOW supportive habitat and hydrology so that effects on water quality and aquatic corridor networks. 

ecosystems are considered. 

OWOW 

throughout the NWP core programs. 

• SA10: Integrate protection of healthy watersheds 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

6 OGWDW=Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water; OWM=Office of Wastewater Management; OWOW=Office of 

Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds; OST=Office of Science and Technology; OW IO=Office of Water Immediate 

Office 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

101 |Appendix D 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals and Strategic Actions 

Lead Office 

(& Partners) 

OWOW 

importance of healthy watersheds in reducing the impacts 

of climate change. 

• SA11: Increase public awareness of the role and 

Goal 4: 

Incorporate climate 

resilience into watershed 

restoration and 

floodplain management. 

Goal 5: 

Watershed protection 

practices incorporate 

Source Water Protection 

to protect drinking water 

supplies. 

Goal 6: 

Incorporate climate 

change considerations 

into the CWA 404 

regulatory program as 

they relate to permit 

reviews and 

compensatory 

mitigation. 

Goal 7: 

Improve baseline 

information on wetland 

extent, condition and 

performance to inform 

effective adaptation to 

climate change. 

OWOW 

in EPA funded and other watershed restoration projects. 

• SA12: Consider a means of accounting for climate change 

OWOW 

protect and enhance buffers to rivers, streams, lakes, 

wetlands, and coastal resources as a means of building 

resiliency. 

• SA13: Work with federal, state, tribal, and local partners to 

OGWDW 

water delineations, assessments or protection plans to 

address anticipated climate change impacts. 

• SA14: Encourage states to consider updating their source 

OGWDW 

state and local awareness of source water protection 

needs and opportunities, and encourage inclusion of 

source water protection areas in local climate change 

adaptation initiatives. 

• SA15: Continue to support collaborative efforts to increase 

OWOW 

significant degradation determinations in the CWA Section 

404 program. 

• SA16: Consider climate change effects in relation to 

OWOW 

wetland and stream compensation projects could be 

selected, designed, and sited to aid in reducing the effects 

of climate change. 

• SA17: Evaluate, in conjunction with the USACE, how 

OWOW 

mapping coalitions and training on use of the new federal 

Wetland Mapping Standard. 

• SA18: Expand wetland mapping by supporting wetland 

OWOW 

assessment of the nation’s wetlands. 

• SA19: Produce a statistically valid, ecological condition 

 Coastal and Ocean Waters: Adverse effects of climate change and unintended adverse consequences of 

responses to climate change have been successfully prevented or reduced in the ocean and coastal 

environment. Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, organizations, and institutions are working 

cooperatively; and information necessary to integrate climate change considerations into ocean and coastal 

management is produced, readily available, and used. 

Goal 8: 

Collaborate to ensure 

information and 

methodologies for ocean 

and coastal areas are 

collected, produced, 

analyzed, and easily 

available. 

OWOW 

learned are transferred, federal efforts effectively help 

local communities, and efforts are not duplicative or at 

cross-purposes. 

• SA20: Collaborate to ensure that synergy occurs, lessons 

OWOW 

needed to protect ocean and coastal areas is collected, 

produced, analyzed, or formatted for users, and is easily 

available. 

• SA21: Work to be sure that knowledge and information 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

102 |Appendix D 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals and Strategic Actions 

Lead Office 

(& Partners) 

Goal 9: 

EPA geographically 

targeted programs 

support and build 

networks of local, tribal, 

state, regional and 

federal collaborators to 

take effective adaptation 

measures for coastal 

and ocean 

environments. 

Goal 10: 

Address climate driven 

environmental changes 

in coastal areas and 

ensure that mitigation 

and adaptation are 

conducted in an 

environmentally 

responsible manner. 

•	 SA22: Work with the NWP’s larger geographic programs 

to incorporate climate change considerations, focusing on 

both the natural and built environments. 

•	 SA23: The National Estuary Programs will address 

climate change adaptation in implementing their 

Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans 

(CCMP) and through the Climate Ready Estuary Program, 

and will build stakeholder capacity. 

•	 SA24: Conduct outreach and education, and provide 

technical assistance to state and local watershed 

organizations and communities to build adaptive capacity 

in coastal areas outside the NEP and LAE programs. 

•	 SA25: Support coastal wastewater, stormwater, and 

drinking water infrastructure owners and operators in 

reducing climate risks and encourage adaptation in coastal 

areas. 

•	 SA26: Support climate readiness of coastal communities, 

including hazard mitigation, pre-disaster planning, predisaster planning, preparedness, and recovery efforts. 

•	 SA27: Support preparation and response planning for 

impacts to coastal aquatic environments. 

OWOW (Regions) 

OWOW 

OWOW 

OWOW 

OWOW 

OWOW 

 Water Quality: Our Nation’s surface water, drinking water, and ground water quality are protected, and the 

risks of climate change to human health and the environment are diminished, through a variety of adaptation 

and mitigation strategies. 

Goal 11: 

Ocean environments are 

protected by EPA 

programs that 

incorporate shifting 

environmental 

conditions, and other 

emerging threats. 

Goal 12: 

Protect waters of the 

United States and 

promote management of 

sustainable surface 

water resources. 

•	 SA28: Consider climate change impacts on marine water 

quality in NWP ocean management authorities, policies, 

and programs. 

•	 SA29: Utilize NEPA, CWA, MPRSA, and other authorities 

and work with the Regional Ocean Organizations and 

other federal and state agencies through regional ocean 

groups and other networks to ensure offshore renewable 

energy production does not adversely affect the marine 

environment. 

•	 SA30: Support the evaluation of sub-seabed and ocean 

sequestration of CO2. 

•	 SA31: Participate in interagency development and 

implementation of federal strategies through the National 

Ocean Council and the NOC Strategic Action Plans. 

•	 SA32: Encourage states and communities to incorporate 

climate change considerations into their water quality 

planning. 

•	 SA33: Encourage green infrastructure and low-impact 

development to protect water quality and make 

watersheds more resilient. 

OWOW 

OWOW (Regions) 

OWOW 

OWOW 

OWOW 

OWM (OWOW) 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

103 |Appendix D 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals and Strategic Actions 

Lead Office 

(& Partners) 

OWM
 

by NPDES permitting authorities.
 

•	 SA34: Promote consideration of climate change impacts 

OWOW
 

authorities consider climate change impacts when 


developing waste load and load allocations.
 

•	 SA35: For future TMDLs, recommend that water quality 

OWM (OWOW) 

from climate change impacts. 

•	 SA36: Identify and protect designated uses that are at risk 

OST
 

criteria on more regular intervals; and develop information 


to assist States and Tribes who are developing criteria that
 

incorporate climate change considerations for hydrologic
 

condition.
 

•	 SA37: Clarify how to re-evaluate aquatic life water quality 

Goal 13: 

As the nation makes 

decisions to reduce its 

greenhouse gas 

emissions and develop 

alternative sources of 

energy and fuel, the 

NWP will work to protect 

water resources from 

unintended adverse 

consequences. 

Goal 14: 

Collaborate to make 

hydrological and climate 

data and projections 

available. 

•	 SA38: Seek opportunities to provide additional assistance 

to states and permittees to assure that geologic 

sequestration of CO2 is responsibly managed. 

•	 SA40: Provide outreach materials for stakeholders to 

encourage the adoption of alternative sources of energy 

and fuels that are water efficient and maintain water 

quality. 

•	 SA39: Work with ORD to better understand the risks of 

storing ethanol-supplemented transportation fuels and with 

the Office of Underground Storage Tanks to explore 

options to mitigate such risk through updated policies. 

OGWDW (OWOW) 

OGWDW 

OWM (OW IO) 

OWM 

placement of reservoirs, EPA will work with other federal 

agencies and EPA programs to understand the combined 

effects of climate change and hydropower on flows, water 

temperature, and water quality. 

•	 SA41: As climate change affects the operation or 

OWOW 

and ground water. 

•	 SA42: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters 

OW IO 

new methods for use of updated precipitation, storm 

frequency, and observational streamflow data, as well as 

methods for evaluating projected changes in low flow 

conditions. 

•	 SA43: Collaborate with other federal agencies to develop 

•	 SA44: Enhance flow estimation using NHDPlus. OWOW 

 Working With Tribes: Tribes are able to preserve, adapt, and maintain the viability of their culture, 

traditions, natural resources, and economies in the face of a changing climate. 

Goal 15: • SA45: Ensure that the revised NWP Tribal Strategy and OW IO 

Incorporate climate subsequent implementation of CWA, SDWA, and other 

change considerations core programs incorporate climate change as a key 

in the implementation of consideration. 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

104 |Appendix D 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals and Strategic Actions 

Lead Office 

(& Partners) 

•	 SA46: Incorporate adaptation into tribal funding 

mechanisms, and collaborate with other EPA and federal 

funding programs to support sustainability and adaptation 

in tribal communities. 

core programs, and 

collaborate with other 

EPA Offices and federal 

Agencies to work with 

tribes on climate change 

issues on a multi-media 

basis. 

OW IO 

Goal 16: •	 SA47: Collaborate to explore and develop climate change OW IO 

Tribes have access to science, information and tools for tribes, and incorporate 

information on climate local knowledge. 

change for decision •	 SA48: Collaborate to develop communication materials OW IO making. relevant for tribal uses and tribal audiences. 

 Cross-Cutting Goals 

Goal 17: 

Communication, 

Collaboration, and 

Training 

Goal 18: 

Tracking Progress And 

Measuring Outcomes 

•	 SA49: Continue building the communication, 

collaboration, and training mechanisms needed to 

effectively increase adaptive capacity at the federal, tribal, 

state, and local levels. 

•	 SA 50: Adopt a phased approach to track programmatic 

progress towards Strategic Actions; achieve commitments 

reflected in the Agency Strategic Plan; work with the EPA 

Work Group to develop outcome measures. 

OW IO 

OW IO 

Goal 19: • SA51: Work with ORD, other water science agencies, and OST (OW IO) 

Climate Change and the water research community to further define needs and 

Water Research Needs develop research opportunities to deliver the information 

needed to support implementation of the 2012 Strategy, 

including to provide the decision support tools needed by 

water resource managers. 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

105 |Appendix D 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

106 |Appendix E

Appendix E: Acknowledgments 

This 2012 Strategy is the collective product of many people. Special thanks go to the following 

people who contributed significantly to the development of this document.

National Water Program Workgroup Members 

EPA Office of the Assistant Administrator 

for Water 

David Bylsma

Joel Corona

Elana Goldstein

Karen Metchis

John Powers

Office of Groundwater and Drinking 

Water 

Curt Baranowski

Mike Muse

David Travers

John Whitler

Lauren Wisniewski

Office of Science and Technology 

Rachael Novak

Shamima Akhter

Office of Wetlands, Oceans and 

Watersheds 

Michael Craghan

Paul Cough

Holly Elwell

Laura Gabanski

Christine Gallagher

Kathleen Kutschenreuter

Tristan Peter-Contesse 

Bernice Smith

Office of Wastewater Management 

Veronica Blette

Caitlin Gregg

Randy Hill

Sarita Hoyt

Jennifer Koch

EPA Regional Offices 

Region 1: Mel Cote, Ken Moraff, 

Stephen Perkins, 

Region 2: Douglas Pabst, Patricia Pechko 

Region 3: Joe Piotrowski 

Region 4: Bob Howard, Linda Rimer 

Region 5: Kate Balasa, John Haugland, 

Tinka Hyde 

Region 6: James R. Brown, Barbara Keeler 

Region 7: Karen Flournoy, Morris Holmes, 

Mary Mindrup

Region 8: Jim Berkley, Carol Russell 

Region 9: Michael Mann, Cheryl 

McGovern, Karen Schwinn

Region 10: Paula VanHaagen, 

Sharon Wilson

Great Lakes Program: John Haugland

Gulf of Mexico Program: John Bowie

Other EPA Contributors 

Office of Air and Radiation 

Rona Birnbaum

Jeremy Martinich

William Perkins

Office of Policy 

Catherine Allen

Gerald Filbin

Joel Scheraga

Office of Research and Development 

James Goodrich

Anne Grambsch

Tom Johnson

Andy Miller

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta

Chris Weaver

Jeff Yang
 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

Special Acknowledgments for Partners and Stakeholders 

The NWP owes a debt of gratitude to the many people who have engaged in the dialogue on 

climate change and water resources. While there are too many to name them all, we especially 

want to express our appreciation to the following organizations and individuals whose ideas 

have informed our thinking in the process of developing this 2012 Strategy, and who have 

created a collaborative problem solving environment that serves the nation well in tackling this 

complex issue. 

State-Tribal Climate Change Council 

Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) 

Denise Clifford, Washington Department of Health 

Jessica Godreau, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources 

Elston Johnson, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality 

Saeid Kasraei, Maryland Department of the Environment 

Dierdre Mason, ASDWA 

Fred Sickel, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 

Jim Taft, ASDWA 

Association of State and Inter State Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) 

Dave Akers, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 

Alexandra Dunn, ASIWPCA 

Arthur Baggett, California State Water Resources Control Board 

Carol Collier, Delaware River Basin Commission 

Susan Kirsch, ASIWPCA 

Janet Llewellyn, Florida Department of Environmental Protection 

Rebecca Weidman, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission 

Marcia Willhite, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency 

Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) 

Anna Buckley, Oregon Department of State Lands 

Jeanne Christie, ASWM 

Denise Clearwater, Maryland Department of the Environment 

Doug Fry, Florida Department of Environmental Protection 

Ted LaGrange, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 

Alan Quakenbush, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation 

Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) 

Mark Fesmire, New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department 

Hal Fitch, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 

Joe Lee, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 

Mike Paque, GWPC 

Sarah Pillsbury, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services 

Dave Terry, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

107 |Appendix E 
 

 

 

 

 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

National Tribal Water Council (NTWC) 

Michael Bolt, Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation 

Alex Cabillo, Arizona Hualapai Tribe 

Daniel Chythlook, Aleknagik Traditional Council 

Steve Crawford, Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point 

Dave Fuller, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe 

Nancy John, Cherokee Nation 

EPA Appointed Members 

Steve Etsitty, Navajo Nation EPA 

Denise Jensen, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska 

Jeanine Jones, Western Governors Association/California Department of Water Resources 

Lynn Kent, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation 

Chief Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation, Haudenosaunee Confederacy 

Naomi Tillison, Bad River Department of Natural Resources 

Jason Walker, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation 

Association Partners 

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and the Water Research Foundation 

(WRF) who conduct research and development activities related to wastewater treatment 

utilities and drinking water utilities, respectively. 

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water 

Agencies (AMWA) who provided valuable input and support throughout this process. 

The Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) members who have provided leadership on this 

issue Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group of the National Drinking Water Advisory 

Committee. 

The real wealth of the Nation lies in the 

resources of the earth — soil, water, 

forests, minerals and wildlife. 

—Rachel Carson 

*** Public Comment Draft *** 

108 |Appendix E