December 2012
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.
Table of Contents i

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Foreword ........................................................................................................................................... iii

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

A. The Evolving Context .........................................................................................................2

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

C. Geographic Climate Regions ..........................................................................................10

D. Cross-Cutting Program Support ....................................................................................10

II. Introduction: The Evolving Context .....................................................................................13

A. 2008 Strategy vs. 2012 Strategy ......................................................................................13

B. Relationship of the 2012 Strategy to Other Planning Activities................................13

C. Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources: Recent Literature .....................16

D. The Economics of Climate Change Actions .................................................................20

III. Framework For A Climate Ready National Water Program ............................................23

A. Guiding Principles .............................................................................................................23

B. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) .................................................25

IV. Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions .....................................................27

A. Infrastructure ....................................................................................................................28

B. Watersheds and Wetlands .............................................................................................36

C. Coastal and Ocean Waters .............................................................................................44

D. Water Quality ....................................................................................................................55

E. Working With Tribes ........................................................................................................63

V. Geographic Climate Regions .................................................................................................67

A. Introduction .......................................................................................................................67

B. Ongoing Programs Relevant to Climate Change across All Regions ......................68

C. EPA and Climate Regions—Goals and Strategic Actions ........................................69

VI. Cross-Cutting Program Support ...........................................................................................91

A. Goal 17: Communication, Collaboration, and Training ...............................................91

B. Goal 18: Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes ..............................................94

C. Goal 19: Climate Change and Water Research Needs ...............................................99

VII. Appendices .............................................................................................................................103

 Appendix A: Principles for an Energy Water Future—The Foundation for a 

Sustainable America ......................................................................................................103

 Appendix B: Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices .........................................105

 Appendix C: List of Abbreviations ............................................................................... 112

 Appendix D: References ................................................................................................ 113

 Appendix E: Acknowledgements .................................................................................120
ii Table of Contents

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange
iii www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Foreword

F

OR THE PAST FORTY YEARS, federal, state, 

tribal, and local governments have worked 

diligently to identify and address water pollution 

problems. As a result, our drinking water is safer, our 

rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are cleaner, and the 

health of our wetlands and watersheds is improved.

In 2008, the EPA National Water Program Strategy: 

Response to Climate Change described the emerg-

ing scientific consensus on the potential impacts of 

climate change on water resources. Increasingly, 

impacts are being observed in communities across 

the nation and are expected to continue, including:  Increases in water pollution problems due 

to warmer air and water temperatures and 

changes in precipitation patterns;

 Impacts on water infrastructure and aquatic 

systems due to more extreme weather events;

 Changes to the availability of drinking water 

supplies;

 Waterbody boundary movement and 

displacement;

 Changing aquatic biology;  Collective impacts on coastal areas; and  Indirect impacts due to unintended 

consequences of human response to climate 

change.

Despite increasing understanding of climate 

change, there still remain questions about the 

scope and timing of climate change impacts, espe-

cially at the local scale where most water-related 

decisions are made. These challenges require us 
iv Foreword

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

all to come together to find the tools needed to understand and manage risks and to 

build resilience of both the built and natural environments.

This National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change builds on 

the momentum gained while implementing the 2008 Strategy. It provides a road map 

for where we need to go over the long term and articulates a set of mid-term building 

blocks, i.e., strategic actions that need to be taken to be a “climate ready” national 

water program. This 2012 Strategy emphasizes working collaboratively, developing 

tools, managing risk, and incorporating adaptation into core programs. Many programs 

and activities already underway become even more important in light of climate change 

– including strengthening preparedness for extreme weather events, protecting healthy 

watersheds and wetlands, managing stormwater with green infrastructure, and improving the sustainability of water infrastructure through energy and water efficiency.

The wider context of climate change-related activity that is underway throughout the 

nation provides an opportunity to work with partners and stakeholders to achieve the 

goals of the EPA National Water Program while contributing to broader national goals 

to sustain the natural resources that support our vibrant economy and our quality of life 

for current and future generations.

Nancy Stoner

Acting Assistant Administrator for Water
1 www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

I. Executive Summary

C

LIMATE 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—such 

as protecting healthy watersheds and wetlands; 

managing stormwater with green infrastructure; 

and improving the efficiency and sustainability of 

water infrastructure, including promoting energy and 

water efficiency, reducing pollutants, and protecting 

drinking water and public health—are even more 

important to do in light of climate change. However, 

climate change poses such significant challenges to 

the nation’s water resources that more transformative approaches will be necessary. These include 

critical reflection on programmatic assumptions and 

development and implementation of plans to address 

climate change’s challenges.

This 2012 Strategy articulates such an 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 while incorporating new science 

and lessons learned along the way. 

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: 

Response to Climate Change
2 Executive Summary www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

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 on 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 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. 

A cross-Agency workgroup embraced 10 guiding principles 

to inform development of the revised and updated NWP 2012 

Strategy. In addition, the 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.

 The ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes by the National 

Ocean Council (NOC). 

 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 on 

other initiatives, such as the recent Coming Together for Clean 

Water strategy and 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 in 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.

 Water body boundary movement and displacements 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, saltwater intrusion to drinking water supplies, and increasing temperature and acidification of the oceans.

 Indirect impacts due to unintended consequences of human response to climate 

change, such as those resulting from, for 

example, armoring shorelines or carbon 

sequestration and other greenhouse gas 

reduction strategies. 
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Executive Summary 3

Response to Climate Change

Ten Guiding Principles

 Integrated Water Resources Management 

(IWRM)

 Adaptive Management

 Collaborative Learning and Capacity 

Development 

 Long Term Planning (i.e., multi-decadal 

time horizon)

 Energy-Water Nexus

 Systems & Portfolio Approach

 Cost of Inaction

 Environmental Justice 

 Performance Evaluation 

 Mainstreaming Climate Change into Core 

Programs

B. Programmatic Visions, Goals, and 

Strategic Actions

The core programmatic elements of this strategy include: 

 Infrastructure 

 Watersheds and Wetlands

 Coastal and Ocean Waters 

 Protecting Water Quality 

 Working with Tribes

Each section addressing these core elements is organized using 

a three-tier 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.

For each Vision, we identify a set of Goals that reflects the same 

long-term timeframe 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 to achieve 

the Goals. These describe how the NWP intends to work over 

the next three to eight years in pursuit of our longer term Goals 

and Visions. 

On page 4, Table ES-1 summarizes the Visions, Goals, and 

Strategic Actions described in this 2012 Strategy. In total, we 

describe 5 Visions, 19 Goals, and 53 Strategic Actions. 
4 Executive Summary www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

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: 

Build the body of information and tools needed to 

incorporate climate change 

into planning and decision 

making.

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 emissions and increase long-term sustainability with a combination of energy efficiency, co-generation, and increased use of 

renewable energy resources.

SA3: Work with the states and public water systems, particularly 

small water systems, to identify and plan for climate change challenges to drinking water safety and to assist in meeting health 

based drinking water standards.

SA4: Promote sustainable design approaches to provide for 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.
Executive Summary 5

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions (cont.)

Watersheds & Wetlands: Watersheds are protected, maintained, and restored to 

provide 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, interstate, tribal, and local partners 

to protect and restore the natural resources and functions of riverine and coastal floodplains as a means of building resiliency and 

protecting water quality. 

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: 

EPA incorporates climate 

change considerations into 

its wetlands programs, including the Clean Water Act 

404 program, as appropriate. 

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. 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions (cont.)

Goal 7: 

Improve baseline information 

on wetland extent, condition, 

and performance to inform 

long term planning and priority setting that takes into 

account the potential added 

benefits for climate change 

adaptation and carbon 

sequestration.

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.

SA20: Work with partners and stakeholders to develop information and tools to support long term planning and priority setting for 

wetland restoration projects.

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 so that information and methodologies for 

ocean and coastal areas are 

collected, produced, analyzed, and easily available.

SA21: Collaborate so that synergy occurs, lessons learned are 

transferred, federal efforts effectively help local communities, and 

efforts are not duplicative or at cross-purposes.

SA22: Work within EPA and with the U.S. Global Change Research 

Program and other federal, tribal, and state agencies to collect, 

produce, analyze, and format knowledge and information needed to 

protect ocean and coastal areas and make it 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.

SA23: Work with the NWP’s larger geographic programs to incorporate climate change considerations, focusing on both the natural 

and built environments.

SA24: Address climate change adaptation and build stakeholder 

capacity when implementing National Estuary Program Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans and through the 

Climate Ready Estuaries Program.

SA25: 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.

6 Executive Summary www.epa.gov/water/climatechange
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Executive Summary 7

Response to Climate Change

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions (cont.)

Goal 10: 

Address climate driven 

environmental changes in 

coastal areas and provide 

that mitigation and adaptation are conducted in an 

environmentally responsible 

manner.

SA26: Support coastal wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water 

infrastructure owners and operators in reducing climate risks and 

encourage adaptation in coastal areas.

SA27: Support climate readiness of coastal communities, including hazard mitigation, pre-disaster planning, preparedness, and 

recovery efforts.

SA28: 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.

SA29: Consider climate change impacts on marine water quality in 

NWP ocean management authorities, policies, and programs.

SA30: Use available authorities and work with the regional ocean 

organizations and other federal and state agencies through regional 

ocean groups and other networks so that offshore renewable energy production does not adversely affect the marine environment.

SA31: Support the evaluation of sub-seabed sequestration of 

carbon dioxide and any proposals for ocean fertilization. 

SA32: Participate in interagency development and implementation 

of federal strategies through the National Ocean Council and the 

National Ocean Council 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.

SA33: Encourage states and communities to incorporate climate 

change considerations into their water quality planning.

SA34: Encourage green infrastructure and low-impact development 

to protect water quality and make watersheds more resilient.

SA35: Promote consideration of climate change impacts by 

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authorities. 

SA36: Encourage water quality authorities to consider climate 

change impacts when developing wasteload and load allocations in 

Total Maximum Daily Loads where appropriate.

SA37: Identify and protect designated uses that are at risk from 

climate change impacts. 

SA38: 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. 
8 Executive Summary

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions (cont.)

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.

SA39: Continue to provide perspective on the water resource implications of new energy technologies.

SA40: Provide assistance to states and permittees to assure that 

geologic sequestration of CO2

 is responsibly managed. 

SA41: Continue to work with States to help them identify polluted 

waters, including those affected by biofuels production, and help 

them develop and implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) 

for those waters. 

SA42: Provide informational materials for stakeholders to encourage the consideration of alternative sources of energy and fuels 

that are water efficient and maintain water quality. 

SA43: 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.

SA44: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters and 

ground water.

SA45: 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.

SA46: 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 multi-media basis. 

SA47: Through formal consultation and other mechanisms, incorporate climate change as a key consideration in the revised NWP 

Tribal Strategy and subsequent implementation of Clean Water Act, 

Safe Drinking Water Act, and other core programs.

SA48: 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: 

Tribes have access to information on climate change for 

decision making. 

SA49: Collaborate to explore and develop climate change science, 

information, and tools for tribes, and incorporate local knowledge. 

SA50: Collaborate to develop communication materials relevant for 

tribal uses and tribal audiences. 
Executive Summary 9

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Table ES-1: Summary of Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions (cont.)

Cross-Cutting Program Support

Goal 17: 

Communicate, Collaborate, 

and Train.

SA51: 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

SA52: Adopt a phased approach to track programmatic progress 

towards Strategic Actions; achieve commitments reflected in the 

Agency’s Strategic Plan; work with an EPA workgroup to develop 

outcome measures. 

Goal 19: 

Identify Climate Change and 

Water Research Needs

SA53: Work with EPA’s Office of Research and Development, 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. 
10 Executive Summary www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

C. Geographic Climate Regions

This section 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 (Table ES-2). 

Several EPA Regions span multiple USGCRP regions and therefore, each EPA Region will address a variety of climate impacts 

in its program implementation. 

Successfully achieving the long-term goals will result from 

strong partnerships with federal agencies, states, interstates, 

tribes, local governments, nongovernmental, and private sector stakeholders. Specific partnerships in each climate region 

will vary according to the needs and issues 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 that include, among others, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) and Climate Science Centers (CSCs) 

launched by the Department of the Interior, and the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Regional 

Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISAs) and National 

Climatic Data Centers.

D. Cross-Cutting Program Support

This section describes essential processes to support and effectively implement the Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions.

Communication, Collaboration, and Training: The NWP intends 

to strengthen and expand collaboration, outreach, and training 

with key partners throughout EPA and with other federal agencies; state, interstate, tribal, and local water program managers; 

and nongovernmental and private sector stakeholders, using 

both 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 toward achieving resilience to climate 

change, noted in Table ES-3. The NWP intends to work with 

the State-Tribal Climate Change Council and other partners to 

refine this approach. As EPA and the ICCATF develop methods 

Table ES-2 

USGCRP Climate Regions 

and EPA Regions

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
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Executive Summary 11

Response to Climate Change

Table ES-3 

for measuring outcomes, the NWP intends to incorporate those 

measures into its evaluation process. In addition, this 2012 Strategy reflects the NWP’s intent to meet the Agency-wide strategic 

measures adopted in the EPA 2011–2015 Strategic Plan and 

achieve measures embodied in future EPA Strategic Plans.

Climate Change and Water Research Needs: The 2012 Strategy

identifies the types of research needed to support the goals and 

strategic actions. The NWP intends to continue to work with the 

EPA’s 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. 

Conclusion

Climate change alters the hydrological background in which 

EPA’s programs function. In response, EPA intends to evaluate 

the need to 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 

that EPA’s programs continue to protect public health and the 

environment and sustain the economy calls for immediate and 

sustained collaboration at the federal, state, interstate, tribal, 

and local levels.

Tracking Progress: Phases of 

Organizational Adaptation

1. Initiation

2. Assessment

3. Response Development

4. Initial Implementation 

5. Robust Implementation

6. Mainstreaming

7. Monitoring and Adaptive 

Management 
12 Programmatic Visions, Goals and Strategic Actions www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

National Water Program 2012 Strategy
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Introduction 13

II. Introduction: The Evolving Context

A. 2008 Strategy vs. 2012 Strategy

T

HE 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 builds on the momentum achieved through the implementation of the 44 key 

actions in the 2008 Strategy. Further, this 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 consistent with creating a “climate-ready” national 

water program, it does not outline commitments to act within a specific timeframe. 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 worked together to ensure that the three national 

adaptation strategies produced by these three workgroups are complementary.

1 The term “National Water Program” refers to the Office of Water (OW) plus the water programs in the 10 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, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Associate Director for Climate 

and Land Use Change, and Jeffrey Peterson, White House Council on Environmental Quality Deputy Associate 

Director for Water Policy. 
14 Introduction

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Subsequently, the Freshwater Workgroup published the National Action Plan titled Priorities 

for Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate3

 (CEQ, 2011a), which describes a 

National Goal, supported by six recommendations, described below:

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 NOC (NOC, 2011) and the Fish, 

Wildlife, and Plants (FWP) Workgroup (FWP, 2011), and EPA’s NWP 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 White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

issued implementation instructions on climate adaptation planning to all federal agencies 

(CEQ, 2011a and b); initial plans were to be submitted by June 2012, and more complete plans 

submitted by June 2013. In response, EPA established a Policy on Climate Change Adaptation, 

issued June 2, 2011 (EPA, 2011a), and formed a cross-EPA Work Group on Climate Change 

Adaptation Planning (EPA Work Group). The Office of Water (OW) and the 10 EPA Regions 

participate on the EPA Work Group, ensuring that the two Strategies (NWP’s and EPA’s) are 

consistent and mutually reinforcing. EPA submitted its plan to CEQ on June 28, 2012.

Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force

Freshwater National Action Plan

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)

3 Printed copies of the National Action Plan are available by sending an email to the following address: adaptation@

ceq.eop.gov, stating addressee, mailing address, and the number of copies desired (limit of three).
Introduction 15

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Despite many successes over recent years, the rate at which waters are being listed for impairment exceeds the rate at which they are being restored. 

The causes of degradation are in many cases far more complex, and not 

as visible to the naked eye as they were years ago; the solutions are often 

available technically, but because the pollution comes from multiple sources, 

and involves a greater array of pollutants and stressors, it requires new 

and innovative partnerships and approaches. In some cases EPA and state 

authorities are limited in scope, and as a result it is challenging to directly 

address root causes—i.e., population growth, urbanization, agriculture, and 

other nonpoint source pollution. Building strong and 

effective partnerships with the widest 

range of stakeholders, state, local, 

and tribal partners, and other federal agencies has never been so 

urgent if we are to protect our 

water and its multiple uses for 

generations to come.

—Coming Together for Clean 

Water, (EPA, 2011b)

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 rulemaking processes; and five major grant, loan, contract, 

or technical assistance programs, and sets a target for reducing greenhouse gas 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 on Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes in Chapter VI for more discussion.)

Finally, in 2010, EPA convened a forum to discuss how to accelerate progress in 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 NWP 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. 
16 Introduction

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

C. Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources: Recent 

Literature

Recently published assessments and other reports 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 should 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 more recent literature cited below and the references cited in Appendix 

D, for a more detailed discussion of the implications of climate change for water resources 

and EPA’s water programs. These implications include:

 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” (i.e., 

when dissolved oxygen declines to the 

point where aquatic species can no 

longer survive) more likely; foster harmful 

algal blooms; and change the toxicity of 

some pollutants (Figure 1). 

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 (Figure 2): Heavier 

precipitation from tropical and inland 

storms will increase flood risk, expand 

flood hazard areas, increase the variability of streamflows (i.e., higher highflows 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 

Figure 1: Global Surface Temperature Change—1880 to 2010 (degrees 

Celsius)—Compared to Base Period 

1951 to 1980 

Black curve shows annual average temperatures; red curve shows a 

five-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/. 
Introduction 17

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

nutrients, pathogens, and toxins being 

washed into water bodies.

 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 in agriculture, industry, and energy production. In 

other areas, sea level rise and saltwater intrusion will have the same effect. 

Warmer air temperatures may also result 

in increased 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.

 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., coldwater fish will be replaced by warmwater fish). This process, however, will occur at 

an uneven pace, disrupting aquatic system health and allowing nonindigenous 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, increasing temperature); acidification (e.g., decreases in pH, decreases in carbonate ion availability for calcifying organisms, changes in fish behavior); and nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, which 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 responses to climate change include development of alternative 

methods of energy and fuel production that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, as 

Figure 2: Increases in Annual Number of 

Days With Very Heavy Precipitation

Source: U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). (2009). Global 

Climate Change Impacts in the United States, [Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson, (eds.)]. New York: Cambridge University Press. 

Retrieved from http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/

scientific-assessments/us-impacts
18 Introduction

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 ground water 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. (Figure 3)

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 21 Synthesis and 

Assessment Products (SAPs) and builds on previous USGCRP 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 United States 

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, 

titled 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 reports (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 

Figure 3: 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 ground water. Projected changes 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).
Introduction 19

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 attempt 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 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.

 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 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 “exceptionally warm” summer is defined as one that is warmer than all but 

about one 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 1–2°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°C.

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

about 3°C (plus or minus 1°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 intends to continue to 

monitor developments in climate change and water science, including new science efforts 

to support and inform adaptation strategies. Notably, the USGCRP is currently conducting its 

third National Climate Assessment, scheduled to be final in 2013 (USGCRP, 2012). The NWP 

intends to incorporate into programs and activities the results of that assessment as well as of 

ongoing science and decision support products in the coming years.
20 Introduction

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 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 decision-makers 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.

The NWP intends to 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 follows.4

 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 and $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. 

4

 This list is intended to be illustrative of recent published research. EPA is not endorsing any specific estimate.
Introduction 21

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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. 

 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.

 AWWA’s recently released report, Buried No Longer, estimates that drinking water 

infrastructure maintenance and replacement costs will be $1 trillion from 2011–2035 

for the current level of service (i.e., the cost of building climate resilience into drinking 

water infrastructure will be in addition to those maintenance and replacement costs).
22 Whatever comes before

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange
III. Framework for a Climate Ready National 

Water Program

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Framework for a Climate Ready National Water Program 23

UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT, EPA and the states are directed to take a variety of 

actions to control pollution from point and nonpoint sources in an effort to achieve the 

Act’s goal of attaining “water quality which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water.” 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 efforts aim to protect 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 NWP as “Climate Ready,” we will work with stakeholders and partners to 

achieve our Vision. The NWP adopted the following 10 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. 

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: Decisions 

about the future are made under some 

conditions of uncertainty, and adaptive management provides a method 

for building flexibility into policy and 

decision-making to manage risk and to 

allow for new knowledge input. UncerFigure 4: Six-Step Approach to Climate 

Change Adaptation Planning

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ceq/Interagency-Climate-Change-Adaptation-Progress-Report.pdf (CEQ, 2010)
24 Framework for a Climate Ready National Water Program

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

tainty 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 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 reasonable, 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 datasets 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. Energy-Water 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. EPA developed a set of principles to promote these concepts to water managers and the general 

public (Figure 5), which are described in more detail in Appendix A. 

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 avoid unintended consequences. Incorporate diversification that includes contingency plans (emergency preparedness and 

response) to be implemented should adaptation actions under-perform.

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]
Framework for a Climate Ready National Water Program 25

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 

non-quantified 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, 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 the 

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

climate change would be integrated into the planning and management of our core 

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 

Figure 5: Principles for an Energy Water Future: The Foundation 

for a Sustainable America (See Appendix A for full description)

http://water.epa.gov/action/energywater.cfm

 Efficiency in the use of energy and water should form the foundation of how we 

develop, distribute, recover, and use energy and water.

 The exploration, production, transmission and use of energy should have the smallest 

impact on water resources as possible, in terms of water quality and water quantity.

 The pumping, treating, distribution, use, collection, reuse and ultimate disposal of 

water should have the smallest impact on energy resources as possible.

 Wastewater 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.

 The water and energy sectors—governments, utilities, manufacturers, and 

consumers—should move toward integrated energy and water management from 

source, production, and generation to end user.

 Maximize comprehensive, societal benefits.
26 Framework for a Climate Ready National Water Program

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

state, interstate, tribal, and local management 

of fresh water to ensure these resources remain 

abundant and clean across the nation for current 

and future generations. 

IWRM is a framework to holistically address current water resource issues and emerging climate 

change complications, such as increasing incidence of flood and drought. 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, with support from federal agencies, to protect and preserve freshwater resources 

through mutually beneficial solutions. IWRM calls 

for intersector planning (e.g., between the energy, 

water, and agricultural sectors) to sustainably manage water resources. A shorthand 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, floodplain management, 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 and other stakeholders 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 intends to seek opportunities to integrate 

IWRM into national and regional activities and 

coordinate with other federal, state, interstate, 

tribal, and local agencies as well as with nongovernmental and private sector stakeholders to support IWRM at hydrologic scales.

IWRM is a voluntary collaboration of state, 

interstate, local, and tribal governments, 

and economic sectors, supported by federal 

agencies to sustainably manage the quality and 

quantity of water resources within watersheds 

and underlying aquifers.

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 (IRWM is an example of 

IWRM). 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 decisionmaking 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_IRWM_020410.pdf
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 27

IV. Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic 

Actions

THE NATIONAL WATER PROGRAM’S over-arching vision is:

Despite the ongoing effects of climate change, the National Water Program intends to 

continue to achieve its mission to protect and restore our waters so that that drinking water is safe; and aquatic ecosystems sustain fish, plants and wildlife, as well as 

economic, recreational, and subsistence activities. 

To that end, the NWP Climate Change Workgroup identified five key programmatic areas in 

which to apply the principles articulated above. This chapter then, is divided into five sections, 

each of which 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. EPA intends 

to work collaboratively with other federal, state, interstate, tribal, and local entities to achieve 

each Vision.

For each Vision, we identify Goals that also reflect a long-term timeframe. The Goals articulate 

EPA’s mission and role in achieving each Vision, and describe what we are trying to achieve. 

Each Goal entails several Strategic Actions, which are the program building blocks to achieve 

the Goal. The Strategic Actions describe how the NWP intends to work over the next three to 

eight years in pursuit of our longer term Goals and Visions. 

EPA intends to incorporate annual objectives into the Agency’s annual budget and planning 

process and reflect the availability of resources and priorities. We intend to describe progress 

toward achieving Goals and Strategic Actions in annual reports (see the section on Tracking 

Progress and Measuring Outcomes in Chapter VI). 

It is important to underscore that neither this 2012 Strategy nor its Visions, Goals, or Strategic 

Actions, impose any requirements on state, tribal, or local water programs, nor do they establish any regulatory obligations on permittees or others. Rather, the 2012 Strategy provides a 

comprehensive discussion of how the NWP intends, over the long term, to incorporate climate 

change considerations into its day-to-day activities, as appropriate and consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory authority, and in accordance with best available science and 

information. This document identifies areas in which the NWP intends to work with stakeholders and partners to account for and respond to the potential and actual impacts of climate 

change.
28 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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; and 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 (LID).

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 (e.g., sea level rise, saline intrusion); and ocean water quality, 

ocean habitats, and marine life.

D. Water Quality – including policies and programs to protect human health and ecological integrity (e.g., Water Quality Standards [WQS], Total Maximum Daily Loads 

[TMDLs], National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System [NPDES] permits, green 

infrastructure (GI) for stormwater management, and underground injection control 

[UIC], wellhead protection). 

E. Working With Tribes – including how the NWP intends to use “traditional knowledge” to help guide this 2012 Strategy and long-term implementation of adaptation 

measures.

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. 

Challenges driven by population growth, landuse change, aging infrastructure, availability of 

infrastructure funding, 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 intends to continue 

assisting the water sector in achieving public 

“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 the likelihood of extreme outcomes 

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.”

National Research Council, 2010d
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 29

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

health and ecosystem objectives in light of climate change and these other challenges. The 

recently published Principles for an Energy Water Future (see Appendix A) underscores many of 

the concepts in this section.

Goal 1: 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 intends to 

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 should be closely coordinated with other federal and 

state agencies, water sector associations, nongovernmental organizations, and tribes. CRWU 

activities also should be linked to other EPA programs, such as Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) 

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 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 

utilitywide planning, ongoing asset management and infrastructure repair and replacement, 

emergency response, and capacity development. Collaboration with the states through the 

State Revolving Fund (SRF) and other finance programs can also facilitate the consideration of 

climate change opportunities as states make infrastructure funding decisions.

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

data and hydrological science, modeling and assessment tools. This action reflects the 

NWP’s intent 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 intends to 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. 
30 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

CRWU intends to 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 also 

intends to 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 longterm planning (EPA, 2011c).

Strategic Action 2: The NWP intends to 

assist wastewater and drinking water 

treatment plants to reduce their greenhouse 

gas emissions and increase their long-term 

sustainability. The NWP intends to 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 10 times the energy 

required to treat it, presenting an opportunity for using it as an energy source (co-generation). 

Becoming more energy efficient is a worthy goal for all water sector utilities and is an important step in reducing greenhouse gases and helping insulate utilities from energy costs or 

supply disruptions (Figure 6).

The NWP intends to continue encouraging water sector utilities to use its Energy Management Guidebook (EPA, 2008a), which uses a management systems approach to reduce energy 

use, along with other tools to develop sustainable energy management programs. As part of 

this effort, EPA intends to encourage utilities to document benefits from adopting energy management programs, such as lowering greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs. EPA has 

also developed a downloadable, Excel-based Energy Use Assessment Tool that can be used 

by small- to medium-sized systems to conduct a utility bill and equipment analysis to assess 

individual baseline energy use and costs (EPA, 2012b). 

The NWP intends to continue to provide information on energy-efficient and co-generation 

technologies in consultation with other federal agencies—principally the Department of Energy (DOE)—and continue to collaborate with the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation and other 

Figure 6: Water and Energy Nexus

Water and energy are intimately connected. Water is used by the power generation sector for cooling, and energy is used by the water sector for pumping, 

treatment, and heating. Without energy there would be limited water distribution, 

and without water, there would be limited energy production. Image credit: U.S. 

Global Change Research Program (www.globalchange.gov).
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 31

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

partners to improve existing tools (e.g., ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager) and develop new 

energy benchmarking and auditing tools.

Strategic Action 3: The NWP intends to work with the states and public water systems, particularly small water systems, to identify and plan for climate change challenges to drinking 

water safety and to assist in meeting health based drinking water standards. 

The NWP intends to continue working to enhance partnerships with states, interstates, tribes, 

and others 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 intends to 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 also intends to encourage partnerships between water systems to ensure 

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

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

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

The NWP has completed Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater 

Utilities, which provides a series of steps to help utilities voluntarily incorporate sustainability 

considerations into their planning. The Handbook focuses on key elements of planning, such 

as aligning utility sustainability goals with other community sustainability priorities in areas 

like housing and transportation; 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.

Recognizing that wastewater utilities are, in reality, resource recovery facilities, the NWP 

intends to work with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and other partners to support development of an energy sustainability “roadmap.” This roadmap will describe a path 

forward to help utilities conserve energy and become energy neutral over time. The NWP also 

intends to work with WEF, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and other partners 

to increase public understanding of the value of biosolids as a renewable resource.

The NWP is also working with EPA’s Office of Community Sustainability and three states (New 

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

of the Housing and Urban Development-Department of Transportation-EPA Sustainable Communities Partnership into their Clean Water SRF programs. Options these states are consider-
32 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

ing 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 greenhouse gas emissions) and/or that potentially 

reduce vulnerability to climate impacts. We intend to share information on the results of these 

pilots 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, 

intends to 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 droughtprone, high growth, or coastal communities). 

The tools described below offer water sector 

utilities a range of methods—and there may be others—to extend their water supplies. 

Many of the activities under the strategic actions for this goal can also be considered “no 

regrets” activities, in that they would provide benefits to utilities under current climate conditions as well as any future changes in climate.

Strategic Action 5: The NWP intends to 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.

Water supply management can help communities build resilience when water supplies are 

at risk. For example, Managed Aquifer Recharge can be used to store water in aquifers for 

Water Reuse and Recycling: 

Examples of Inter-utility IWRM in the 

Metropolitan Water District (MWD) 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 

(Orange County Water District, 2008).

 The City of Hemet, California, in the Eastern 

Municipal Water District provides recycled 

water to supply public parks and golf courses 

throughout the southland (Metropolitan Water 

District of Southern California, 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 MWDs for municipal and 

agricultural irrigation (MWDSC, 2008).
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 33

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

later use, and complements reuse of reclaimed wastewater to extend use, water loss control 

to preserve use of already treated water, and desalination to expand access to a useable 

resource. 

Managed Aquifer Recharge: The NWP intends to work to foster research on Managed Aquifer 

Recharge practices that do not endanger underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). 

For example, Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is a process of storing water underground 

for future use if the injection does not endanger underground sources of drinking water. ASR 

is increasingly used where freshwater demand is beginning or projected to exceed supply, 

and use of 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 stormwater 

risks contamination of freshwater aquifers. 

Reclamation and Reuse: The NWP intends to 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 freshwater 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 intends to 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 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 five 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 
34 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 treatment. The NWP 

intends to 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 intends to 

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 should be able to 

price water to reflect the full cost of treatment and delivery, as well as the cost of 

protecting water supplies. (Figure 7)

Metering and Metrics: The NWP intends to support the Water Workgroup of the ICCATF by 

working with other federal water agencies to develop sector-specific water-use efficiency 

metrics, and the NWP intends to continue seeking opportunities to assist water utilities in developing and deploying water metering technologies. Measuring water 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. It will also be of interest to see how the increasing use of 

real-time customer water use information changes customer behavior as it relates to water 

use.

Water Use Efficiency and 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 nonagricultural water use through more efficient products 

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

Figure 7: Potential Water Supply Conflicts

The map shows regions in the West where water supply conflicts are likely to 

occur by 2025 based on a combination of factors, including population trends 

and potential endangered species’ needs for water. The red zones are where 

the conflicts are most likely to occur. This analysis does not factor in the effects 

of climate change, which is expected to exacerbate many of these alreadyidentified issues. 

Image credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2005.
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 35

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

innovation in manufacturing by standardizing 

rigorous certification criteria that ensure product 

efficiency, performance, and quality (EPA, 2011f). 

These savings at the consumer level translate to 

significant direct savings in operations and maintenance costs, and indirect savings in infrastructure replacement costs, for drinking water and 

wastewater utilities. EPA intends to continue to 

develop specifications for water-efficient products; encourage water efficiency in landscape 

design, 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 is typically generated through user fees. 

When measured as a percentage of household income, the United States 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 vital.

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 should be able to price water services to reflect these 

costs, while also adjusting rates as needed to ensure that lower income communities can afford water and wastewater services.

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

learn about how pricing affects their community. EPA intends to 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 intends to 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.

It is important that state and local governments and their constituents understand the nature 

and extent of the water challenges they face to make decisions to address them. The NWP 

intends to work with federal and state science agencies and academia to develop locationspecific 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 the Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) National Water Census 

as well as its WaterSMART program to promote the efficient use of water (USBR, 2011). The 

NWP intends to also expand its effort to collaborate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

WaterSense has helped consumers save 287 

billion gallons of water and $4.7 billion in water 

and energy bills since 2006. By the end of 2011, 

WaterSense had partnered with more than 

2,400 organizations and professionals, and more 

than 4,500 plumbing products had earned the 

WaterSense label (EPA, 2011e). 
36 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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). 

B. Watersheds and Wetlands

VISION: Watersheds are protected, maintained and restored to provide 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 intends 

to protect 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. In many cases, 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. 

Protecting waters and watersheds inherently involves landscape-scale collaboration involving state, tribal, federal, and local 

partners. Such collaborations promote a 

holistic, systems approach, enabling partners 

to more cost-effectively reach shared goals 

that increase ecosystem resilience to climate 

change. In particular, the NWP intends to 

work to implement the National Fish, Wildlife 

and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy (FWP, 

2011), which lists seven goals (see Table 1). 

Table 1: Draft National Fish, Wildlife 

and Plants Climate Adaptation 

Strategy 

Goals:

 Goal 1. Conserve and Connect Habitat

 Goal 2. Manage Species & Habitats

 Goal 3. Enhance Management Capacity

 Goal 4. Support Adaptive Management 

 Goal 5. Increase Knowledge & Information 

 Goal 6. Increase Awareness & Motivate Action

 Goal 7. Reduce Non-Climate Stressors

FWP, 2011. Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation 

Workgroup www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov

“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
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 37

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

The Goals and Strategic Actions in this section in 

particular reflect EPA’s intention to implement the 

FWP Strategy.

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 (HWI) to expand 

its 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 state-led National Fish Habitat 

Action Plan, the watershed protection and restoration programs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Forest Service 

(USFS), the full suite of conservation programs administered by U.S. Department of Agriculture, 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.

The Healthy Watersheds approach is an important component of IWRM. IWRM offers a more 

holistic approach to water quality protection by addressing surface water and ground water 

quality and quantity as one hydrologic system. As implementation of the Healthy Watersheds approach increases our understanding of some of these relationships (e.g., hydrologic 

requirements of aquatic ecosystems), that knowledge will provide building blocks for the 

foundation of IWRM. 

Strategic Action 8: The NWP intends to develop a national framework for a network of 

remaining healthy watersheds and aquatic ecosystems, including natural infrastructure for 

habitat corridors, and intends to support state and tribal efforts. 

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

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

to conduct statewide 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 also intends to support state and tribal efforts to implement 

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

Integrated Water Resources 

Management

Successful adaptation and mitigation of climate 

change impacts will require a coordinated 

effort among all levels of government, tribes, 

communities, nongovernmental groups, 

scientific entities and the private sector - that 

is, Integrated Water Resources Management. 

These voluntary partnerships will be essential 

to protecting and restoring watersheds, 

wetlands and coastal areas.”

—Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator, 

EPA Office of Water, 2011
38 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

The NWP intends to 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 intends 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 intends to collaborate with federal and other partners who 

focus on terrestrial ecosystems and hydrology to promote consideration of potential effects 

of climate change on water quality and aquatic ecosystems. 

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

and sequestration of carbon. The NWP intends to 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, and keystone species, and protection 

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

impacts to aquatic ecosystem integrity. In particular, the NWP intends to actively support and 

promote appropriate forest protection efforts, afforestation (new plantings) and reforestation 

(replanting of deforested areas) of non-forest lands, and promote and explore partnerships 

with working lands, land retirement, and forestry programs within other federal agencies such 

as those administered by the USFS and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and 

Farm Service Agency. 

For example, to date, EPA has been working directly with USFS staff in the State and Private 

Forestry program to promote the use of afforestation and reforestation as a component of GI, 

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 the 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 USFS has 

identified as needing replanting.

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

Office in order to start up a Web-based forestry stewardship program targeting small landowners. A geo-referenced 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.
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 39

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategic Action 10: The NWP intends to 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 processes, promoting GI 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 intends to encourage permitting authorities to 

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

increased use of GI or reductions in impervious cover can both address water quality issues 

and increase resilience to climate change. EPA intends to 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 

garner public support for actions needed to sustain these resources in the face of climate 

change.

The NWP intends to 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. To build support for action, the NWP 

intends to further articulate the climate-induced risks to aquatic ecosystems, and the associated need to enable ecosystem migration. (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 and riparian ecosystems necessary to make them sustainable, resilient, and 

healthy. Incorporating climate change factors into planning efforts will enable watershed 

strategies to be successful over the long term. 

Strategic Action 12: The NWP intends to 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 

intends to clarify and encourage implementation of existing investment flexibilities to support 

investments in climate resiliency in watershed restoration approaches, source water protection, GI, and joint partnerships, consistent with authorizing legislation. For example, CWA 

Section 319(h) grants can be used to implement nonpoint source management projects to 
40 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

protect and restore watersheds, including those that are vulnerable to changing land use and/

or climate change. The Section 319 grant guidance encourages partnering with other environmental programs with shared goals to leverage funding and strategically target efforts to 

maximize results. These partnerships are a key element to healthy watersheds protection and 

have the potential to be effective in meeting common goals of watershed protection across 

state and federal agencies.

Strategic Action 13: The NWP intends to work with federal, state, interstate, tribal, and local 

partners to protect and restore the natural resources and functions of riverine and coastal 

floodplains as a means of building resiliency and protecting water quality. 

Floodplains are among the most valuable ecosystems to society, second only to estuaries. 

Despite representing less than 2% of Earth’s terrestrial land surface area, floodplains provide 

approximately 25% of all terrestrial ecosystem service benefits (Opperman, 2010). Protecting and restoring the natural resources and functions of floodplains will provide numerous 

environmental as well as economic benefits, such as protecting water quality, enhancing 

ground water recharge, and ensuring base flow of streams. Buffer areas also provide for 

flood attenuation, allow potential shoreline and lateral stream movement, modulate water 

level fluctuations, and minimize impacts on infrastructure. The NWP intends to encourage 

sound floodplain management, including use of nonstructural measures such as GI and LID, 

and work with partners to enhance the use of buffers to reduce flood losses, protect riparian 

ecosystems, improve water quality, and build resilience. The NWP intends to discourage use 

of structural measures (e.g., stream channelization and levees) whenever possible. 

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 and potentially increasing costs. 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 freshwater supplies for all uses, particularly drinking water, 

at increasing risk. Saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers is a problem in some areas where 

ground water withdrawals are outstripping recharge; increased pressure head from a higher 

sea level worsens this problem. As sea level 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 intends to encourage states to consider updating their source 

water delineations, assessments or protection plans to address anticipated climate change 

impacts. 

NWP program staff intend to continue working to assure that states include protecting 

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 intend to 
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 41

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 intends to 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 nongovernmental and private 

sector 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 intends to 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 its wetlands programs, including the CWA 404 program, as appropriate.

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 United States, including wetlands. Activities in waters of the United 

States 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 United States.

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 intends to consider the effects of climate change as appropriate when making significant degradation determinations in the CWA Section 404 Wetlands 

Permitting and Enforcement Programs. 
42 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 mitigate 

these effects, EPA intends to 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 and legally 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 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, the 

NWP also intends to 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 intends to 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 and 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, intends to 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 wetland 

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 and community and creating public green space that 

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 intends to expand wetland mapping by supporting wetland 

mapping coalitions and training on use of the new Federal Wetland Mapping Standard.
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 43

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

While Agency conclusions should be informed by detailed, accurate data sources, the existing 

National Wetland Inventory (NWI) mapping, managed by the USFWS, is a good initial guide 

about potential wetlands in an area/watershed and is used extensively, including to address 

the effects of climate change (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 Western United States 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, and 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 realtime updates of the national wetlands data layer in the future. Using the new Standard, other 

groups, such as states, tribes, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations, are 

able to collect and upload digitally mapped data to the NWI. EPA and other federal agencies 

intend to train and support a range of organizations to complete the national map. 

Strategic Action 19: The NWP intends to 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, interstate, 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 

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 

its 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 8).

Figure 8: National Wetland Condition 

Assessment Site Locations

Approx. 1,000 randomly selected wetland sites sampled in 2011. National Wetland 

Condition Assessment, EPA, 2011n. 
44 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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.

Strategic Action 20: The NWP intends to 

work with partners and stakeholders to 

develop information and tools to support 

long term planning and priority setting for 

wetland restoration projects.

Wetlands have the potential to provide added benefits for climate change adaptation 

as well the potential to store and sequester 

carbon. The NWP intends to work with 

partners and stakeholders to share evolving 

information and tools to encourage consideration of climate change in long term planning and 

priority setting for wetlands management strategies and sustainable restoration projects. 

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 because of its jurisdictional implications relevant to governmental authority. 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. 

“Wetlands are inextricably tied to water levels 

and changes in climatic conditions affecting water 

availability will greatly influence the nature and 

function of specific wetlands, including the type of 

plant and animal species within them.”

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, announcing 

availability of the new wetland mapping standard. 

August 18, 2009
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 45

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

However, the ocean and coasts will experience unique impacts that the rest of the terrestrial 

United States will not. Sea level rise is already a multi-faceted problem that is worsening 

(Figure 9). 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 adverse implications of ocean 

acidification (OA) for ocean and coastal marine 

ecosystems are potentially very serious 

because the ocean has a large capacity to 

absorb CO2

 from the atmosphere, and thus 

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 NRC (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.

However, in some parts of the country, such as parts of the Pacific Northwest, sea level rise 

is offset 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 intends to cooperate with other interested parties and work to enhance the adaptive capacity of our partners 

Figure 9: Sea Level Rise

Annual, global mean sea level as determined by records of tide gauges (red and 

blue curves) and satellite altimetry (black curve) (NRC 2010c).
46 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

to effectively meet the coming 21st century environmental tests. We intend to work in close 

concert with local, state, tribal, and regional organizations and other federal partners through 

the wide range of existing programs and partnerships like the National Estuary Program (NEP), 

Large Aquatic Ecosystems (LAE), Great Waterbodies, and regional ocean groups. Working 

cooperatively with Canada and Mexico will also be critical if we are to be successful in near 

ocean environments. 

Similarly, the NOC has drafted an Implementation Plan for a new, comprehensive 

National Ocean Policy established by Executive Order 13547 on “Stewardship of the 

Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes.” 

Following extensive stakeholder and expert 

input, the Plan is nearing completion in 

2012. It describes a framework for federal 

agencies to work together to pursue common marine stewardship goals with cohesive actions, and to engage state, tribal, 

and local authorities; regional governance 

structures; nongovernmental organizations; 

the public; and the private sector. Table 

2 lists the National Ocean Policy’s nine 

priorities, which include Resiliency and 

Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean 

Acidification. Upon release, the Implementation Plan will identify specific Actions and 

milestones for each priority, in addition to 

naming the federal agencies supporting those commitments. The Goals and Strategic Actions 

in this section reflect some of EPA’s intent to implement actions under Element 6, Resiliency 

and Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification, as well as other parts of the plan.

GOAL 8: The NWP works collaboratively with partners so 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 adverse impacts of climate change will 

depend on policymakers and managers having the relevant information 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 21: To protect ocean and coastal areas, the NWP intends to collaborate 

within EPA and with other federal, tribal, and state agencies to ensure that synergy occurs 

whenever possible, lessons learned are transferred, federal efforts effectively help local 

communities and are not duplicative or working at cross-purposes. 

Table 2: National Ocean Policy 

Implementation Plan Key Elements 

(NOC, 2011)

1. Ecosystem-based Management

2. Inform Decisions and Improve Understanding

3. Observations, Mapping, and Infrastructure

4. Coordinate and Support

5. Regional Ecosystem Protection and Restoration

6. Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate Change 

and Ocean Acidification

7. Water Quality and Sustainable Practices on 

Land

8. Changing Conditions in the Arctic

9. Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 47

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Ensuring that lessons learned are transferred 

among 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 NOAA have 

signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work 

together on climate adaptation, resilience, and 

smart growth efforts. In the New England region, 

a “Statement of Common Purpose” exists among 

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, such as many DOI agencies (e.g., 

USGS, National Park Service, USFWS, Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), USACE, 

DOT, and USDA (among others), would also be 

helpful. 

Strategic Action 22: The NWP intends to work within EPA and with the U.S. Global Change 

Research Program and other federal, tribal, and state agencies to collect, produce, analyze, 

and format knowledge and information needed to protect ocean and coastal areas and make 

it easily available.

The NWP intends to work within EPA; with the USGCRP; and with other federal, tribal, and 

state agencies to produce relevant knowledge and information that informs decision-making, 

and to make it available in user-friendly formats through compendiums, websites, and clearinghouses. Information needed that is specific to coastal and ocean planning includes:

 Projections of relative sea level change at finer scales, including Light Detection and 

Ranging (LIDAR) land elevations.

 Information on ocean acidification and warming.

 Monitoring of environmental effects and system thresholds specific to the coastal 

and marine environments.

 Improvements in the ability to quantify real reductions of CO2 due to salt marsh and 

coastal restoration.

EPA intends to 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. 

Integrated Water Resources 

Management

As changing climates affect the decisions of 

water supply managers, coastal issues will be 

one more consideration. Managers are already 

balancing competing demands for in-stream 

ecological functions, water supply in reservoirs, 

water supply for downstream users, and power 

generation. Flows passing downstream have an 

effect on sediment delivery to coastal systems, 

the salinity structure of coastal estuaries, and 

how far upstream the salt front can push.

The management of coastal waters can benefit 

from an IWRM perspective. Issues may arise, 

for example, due to diversion of fresh surface 

water to recharge coastal aquifers, reducing 

flows needed for healthy coastal estuarues. 

Similarly, the disposal of residual brines where 

desalination is implemented to provide fresh 

water will also need attention.
48 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Please also see Strategic Action 44: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters and 

ground water.

GOAL 9: Support and build networks of local, tribal, state, regional and federal collaboration 

partners 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. 

Strategic Action 23: The NWP intends to 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 10 large aquatic ecosystems, Regional Ocean 

Partnerships, and regional planning bodies established 

under the National Ocean Council. The NWP intends to 

work to provide these key geographic programs with tools 

necessary to consider climate change effects in their 

plans and programs. EPA regional and geographic program 

offices and the Council of LAEs all intend to play key roles 

addressing climate change impacts to both the natural and built environments when making 

policies or decisions, and intend to work to ensure that best practices and lessons learned 

from local projects are widely shared. 

The NWP intends to continue working with Regional Ocean 

Partnerships that undertake planning for resiliency. According to the Coastal States Organization’s website,“ [t]here 

is an ever-growing recognition that multi-state, regional 

approaches are one of the most effective and efficient ways 

to address many of our ocean and coastal management 

challenges. To meet these challenges, governors around 

the country have voluntarily established Regional Ocean 

Partnerships and are working in collaboration with federal 

agencies, tribes, local governments, and nongovernmental 

and private sector 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, 

Regional Ocean and Great 

Lakes Partnerships

 Great Lakes Regional 

Collaboration

 Governors’ South Atlantic Alliance 

 Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA)

 Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on 

the Ocean (MARCO)

 Northeast Regional Ocean Council 

(NROC)

 West Coast Governors’ 

Agreement on Ocean Health 

EPA’s Large Aquatic 

Ecosystem Programs

 Chesapeake Bay Program 

 Columbia River Basin 

 Great Lakes 

 Gulf of Mexico Program 

 Lake Champlain Basin Program 

 Long Island Sound Study 

 Pacific Islands Office 

 Puget Sound—Georgia Basin 

 San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary 

 South Florida Geographic Initiative
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 49

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

and addressing climate change, through such approaches as ecosystem based management, 

and coastal and marine spatial planning.” [CSO, 2011]

The NWP intends to also collaborate with the NOC’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 implement the framework for CMSP, leading to the 

eventual development of regional, coastal, and marine spatial plans that will guide and inform 

Agency decision-making under existing statutory authority. The NWP intends to inform the 

CMSP process and the development of plans to implement two priority objectives: 1) Coastal 

and Marine Spatial Planning (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.

Strategic Action 24: 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 intends to 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 (Figure 10).

The Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program, 

which is jointly administered by EPA’s Office 

of Water 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 intends to 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) is expected to ensure that climate 

change is considered by all NEPs, and helps 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 intends to work collaboratively with other EPA programs (e.g., 

CRWU), federal agencies (e.g., NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserves and Sea Grant, 

Figure 10: NEP Study Areas

http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/index.cf
50 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

USDA’s conservation planning activities), land trusts, and other nonprofit coastal organizations 

to build mutually supportive networks. 

Strategic Action 25: The NWP intends to 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, should 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.

GOAL 10: The NWP addresses climate driven environmental changes in coastal areas and 

provides 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 U.S. 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 
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 51

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Figure 11: Infrastructure Risk from Sea level Rise

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

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.

Strategic Action 26: The NWP intends to 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, saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers, and increasing water 

temperatures all threaten wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities, conveyance 

systems, and utility operations (See Figure 11).

Stormsmartcoasts.org

...was established by the Gulf of Mexico 

Governor’s Alliance with startup funding 

from NOAA and a 3-year EPA grant 

to expand it. Smartcoasts provides 

a platform for the open exchange of 

information among states, communities, 

counties, and others. A Community of 

Practice for Climate Change includes 

100 members across the Gulf region from 

Sea Grant programs, NOAA, EPA, FEMA, 

the five Gulf of Mexico states, counties, 

parishes, communities, and universities. 
52 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

EPA’s CRWU and CRE programs intend to 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 also intends to 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 27: The NWP intends to 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. 

To avoid such problems and minimize the need for emergency response, the NWP intends to 

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, CRE, and Sustainable Communities programs intend to collaborate to provide 

local communities with planning tools to improve resiliency to natural hazards as well as to 

bring other economic, environmental, and quality of life benefits. FEMA is a critical federal 

partner; in 2010, EPA and FEMA signed a Memorandum of Agreement that will make it easier 

for the two agencies to collaborate to help communities recover from disasters and better 

plan for future resilience, including for climate change adaptation (EPA, 2011i). The NWP also 

intends to 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 

intends to provide advice on how funding recipients can include an assessment of adaptation 

and mitigation measures in their planning for federally funded projects. 

Strategic Action 28: The NWP intends to 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 activities and 

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 

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
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 53

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 about coastal marshes may 

need to consider long-term viability and 

replenishment costs. The NWP intends to 

use 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 

impacts in coastal habitat restoration planning. The National and Regional Dredging 

Teams intend 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 sector CO2

 emissions offsets might become a 

useful strategy for funding restoration or creation of sustainable coastal habitats. Care should 

be taken, however, to ensure that other ecosystem services do not suffer if some aquatic 

environments are managed strictly for their ability to sequester CO2

.

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. It is important 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. (Figure 12)

Strategic Action 29: The NWP intends to 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, and 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. 

Figure 12: Observed Northward Shift of 

Marine Species in the Bering Sea Between 

the Years 1982 and 2006 

As air and water temperatures rise, marine species are moving northward, 

affecting fisheries, ecosystems, and coastal communitites that depend on the 

food source. On average, by 2006, the center of the range for the examined 

species moved 19 miles north of their 1982 locations.
54 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 other climate 

change impacts on ocean environments substantially affect water quality, such as dissolved 

oxygen and temperature, then the NWP intends to respond to them as well (USGCRP, 2008). 

Strategic Action 30: The NWP intends to use available authorities and work with existing regional ocean governance structures, federal and state agencies, and other networks so that 

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 believes it 

is vital that the installation of renewable energy infrastructure (e.g., offshore wind turbines or 

wave energy systems, transmission cables, and shore-based facilities) be conducted in an environmentally responsible manner that does not result in unintended adverse consequences. 

Relevant statutory authorities administered by the NWP include the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), and the 

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 CMSP. CMSP is a 

comprehensive, adaptive, integrated, ecosystem-based, and transparent spatial planning 

process, based on sound science and intended to foster collaboration about 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 31: The NWP intends to support the evaluation of sub-seabed sequestration 

of CO2

 and any proposals for ocean fertilization. 

EPA intends to 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 applicable permitting that may be required 

under the MPRSA or the UIC program. 

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 believes it is vital that the new technologies are responsibly deployed to protect the 

marine environment and avoid risks to coastal populations and habitats. 
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 55

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategic Action 32: The NWP intends to 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. The NWP intends to 

participate in development and implementation of federal strategies so 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 intends to 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 section focuses on the NWP’s strategy for responding to climate change impacts on 

water quality, using both regulatory and nonregulatory controls. Regulatory controls include 

WQS, TMDLs, and the NPDES, as well as drinking water regulations such as the UIC program. 

Nonregulatory controls include promotion of GI and LID strategies and other collaborative approaches. (Larger landscape strategies are covered in the Watersheds and Wetlands section). 

This section also discusses 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 streamflow and associated 

sedimentation, and expanding flood risk. 
56 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategic Action 33: The NWP intends to 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 on 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 efforts.5

 In addition, the 

CWA Section 319(h) grant program can be an important resource to states for implementing 

nonpoint source management projects that protect 

vulnerable priority waters and sources of drinking 

and that restore impaired waters.

Strategic Action 34: The NWP intends to 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 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 re-creating natural 

landscape features and minimizing imperviousness 

to create functional and appealing site drainage that 

treats stormwater as a resource rather than a waste 

product (EPA, 2011k). EPA is actively promoting these 

kinds of practices through its Green Infrastructure 

Integrated Municipal 

Stormwater and Wastewater 

Plans

An integrated planning process can help 

define a critical path to achieving the 

objectives of the Clean Water Act by 

identifying efficiencies in implementing 

competing requirements that arise from 

separate wastewater and stormwater 

projects, including capital investments and 

operation and maintenance requirements. 

This approach can also lead to more 

sustainable and comprehensive solutions, 

such as green infrastructure, that improves 

water quality as well as supports other 

quality of life attributes that enhance the 

vitality of communities.

— EPA policy memo available at: http://cfpub.

epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.cfm (EPA, 2012d)

For more information on how NWP intends to 

work to protect the quality and resilience of watersheds, please see Goal 3, Strategic Action 10 in 

the Watersheds and Wetlands section, page 39.

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.
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 57

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategy (EPA, 2012c), available at http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/

index.cfm. 

The NWP intends to promote the use of GI and LID through tool development, stormwater 

permitting, outreach, and assistance programs to support states and permittees in evaluating 

benefits and co-benefits of GI and LID approaches. The NWP intends to consider focusing its 

regulatory and permitting efforts not only on new development, but also on redevelopment. 

This Strategic Action supports the Agency goal to incorporate climate change science and 

scenario information in five rulemaking processes by 2015.

Strategic Action 35: The NWP intends to promote the consideration of climate change impacts by NPDES permitting authorities. 

As authorized by the CWA, the NPDES permit program reduces 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 intends to evaluate and develop, as needed, technical tools for permit writers to improve 

their decision-making processes related to the impacts of climate change, such as use of 

precipitation and streamflow data and other data or models. 

To promote water quality on a watershed scale, the NWP intends to 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 

also intends to consider the need for, and appropriateness of, reflecting climate projections in 

NPDES permitting (e.g., precipitation projections).

The NWP intends to evaluate the anticipated effect of 

climate change on critical low-flow stream conditions, 

and encourage NPDES permitting authorities to incorporate revised low-flow stream estimates into NPDES 

permit effluent limit development where appropriate. The NWP also intends to continue to encourage 

NPDES permitting authorities to consider anticipated 

climate change impacts (e.g., warmer surface waters) 

when evaluating applications for 316(a) variances from 

thermal effluent limitations.

Strategic Action 36: The NWP intends to encourage 

water quality authorities to consider climate change 

impacts when developing wasteload and load allocations in TMDLs 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 otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by 

states, territories, or authorized tribes after the implementation of effluent limitations or other 

The Chesapeake Bay TMDL 

and Climate Change

“EPA and USGS will work in conjunction 

with the states to conduct an analysis 

by 2017 to consider accounting for 

uncertainties of climate change in TMDL 

allocations. USGS has begun initial 

assessment of changes in pollution loads 

in the watershed under different climate 

and land-use scenarios. Initial results will 

be available in 2012 and be used to further 

plan assessments for TMDL allocations. 

Enhanced assessment will begin in 2016.”

— Chesapeake Executive Order Strategy, p. 41 

[CBPO, 2010]
58 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 water body can 

receive and still safely meet water quality standards (EPA, 2011l).

The NWP intends to look for opportunities for states or EPA to consider potential climate 

change impacts when developing TMDLs. The NWP intends to explore the use of tools such 

as models to help states evaluate pollutant load impacts under a range of projected climatic 

shifts. This would be done in a way that takes into account the best available data as well as 

any uncertainties in the models or data.

TMDLs are developed and implemented using an adaptive management approach, in which 

adjustments can be made as environmental conditions, pollutant sources, or other factors 

change over time. Thus, as more information and tools become available, there will be opportunities to make adjustments in TMDLs to reflect climate change impacts.

Strategic Action 37: The NWP intends to 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 water body and serves as 

the regulatory basis for establishing controls beyond technology-based requirements. 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 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.

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 feasible to attain based on one of the established regulatory factors. Additionally, states 

are required to conduct a review of their WQS at least once every three years. As part of that 

triennial review, states 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.

The water quality standards regulation specifies circumstances under which a designated use 

may or may not be removed or revised. If a designated use is an existing use 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 intends to identify designated uses that are important to 

states and tribes, necessary to meet the goals of the CWA, and vulnerable to climate change 
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 59

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 

intends to focus on 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 also intends to work with stakeholders to better understand how a state could 

conduct Use Attainability Analysis (UAA), using the six attainability factors in EPA’s current 

regulations, where climate change may be the primary cause of nonattainment and where 

impacts cannot be remedied.

Strategic Action 38: The NWP intends to clarify how states can update aquatic life water 

quality criteria on more regular intervals, using the best and most accurate science and data 

related to both changing climate conditions and how pollutants react. 

Section 304(a)(1) of the CWA requires EPA to develop criteria for water quality that accurately 

reflect 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 encourages 

states to update criteria 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 intends to incorporate the best available science in an informational document to assist states and tribes that 

are interested in protecting aquatic life from these impacts.

GOAL 13: As the nation makes decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop 

alternative sources of energy and fuel, the NWP intends to work to protect water resources 

from unintended adverse consequences.

Just as it takes energy to treat and distribute water supplies, it takes water to generate and 

produce energy and fuels. Well-designed or rehabilitated water infrastructure can reduce 

energy demand, and careful energy planning can reduce water demand. Using a systems 

approach, consolidated water infrastructure, energy, and transportation planning can directly and indirectly reduce the demand for both water and energy. While Goals 1 and 2 in 

the Infrastructure section of this 2012 Strategy discuss improving the energy profile of water 

infrastructure, this goal identifies actions that may reduce the adverse effects of new energy 

technologies on water resources, consistent with the recently published Principles for an 

Energy-Water Future (see Appendix A).
60 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategic Action 39: The NWP intends to continue to provide perspective on the water 

resource implications of new energy technologies. 

Production of energy and fuel rely on access to water, and may in turn contribute to water 

quantity and quality problems. Further, while alternative sources of energy and fuel are important for reducing emissions of GHGs and offer a number of win-win energy choices, they too 

bring water resource challenges. As technologies evolve, the NWP intends to provide perspective on how the nation’s energy choices affect water resources. 

Strategic Action 40: EPA intends to provide assistance to states and permittees so that 

geologic sequestration of CO2

 is responsibly managed 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 (i.e., during a post injection site care period), 

and closed in a manner that ensures USDW protection. The NWP intends to focus on implementation of these requirements to protect USDWs.

Strategic Action 41: EPA will also continue to work with States to help them identify polluted waters, including those affected by biofuels production, and help them develop and 

implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for those waters.

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. As the production and price of corn and other biofuel feedstocks increase, 

there may be impacts to both water quality and water quantity. Runoff from agricultural land 

carries contaminants such as fertilizers, pesticides, and sediment. More agriculture generally requires more irrigation, which increases the demand for water and the amount of water 

flowing directly off land and carrying pollutants into nearby water bodies. The degree to which 

fertilizers, pesticides, and sediment affect water quality depends on a variety of management 

factors, including nutrient and pesticide application rates and application methods, conservation practices and crop rotations, and acreage and intensity of tile drained lands. 

Runoff from agricultural nonpoint sources is not directly controlled under the NPDES permit 

program. Nonpoint source pollution is addressed via state pollution control programs. These 

programs are supported with CWA Section 319 grant funding and include an array of regulatory and voluntary approaches depending on the state. In addition, water quality trading is a 

tool that can allow permitted point source facilities facing higher pollution control costs to 

meet their regulatory obligations by purchasing environmentally equivalent (or superior) pollution reduction credits from another source at lower cost. In some trading programs, nonpoint 

sources such as agricultural operations may be included in trading if pollution reductions can 

be sufficiently documented. EPA will also continue to work with states to help them identify 
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 61

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

polluted waters, including those affected by biofuels production, and help them develop and 

implement TMDLs for those waters.

Under the CWA, all point sources of pollution to a water of the United States, including ethanol 

plants, are required to have a permit to discharge to water bodies for both industrial process 

water and stormwater. NPDES permits for ethanol plants take into account the minerals, toxic 

pollutants, and biological oxygen demand resulting from the production process. 

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. 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). EPA’s ORD provides methods, models, and tools needed to 

remediate leaking UST sites and address fate and transport issues of leaking contaminants. 

EPA also proposed guidance (EPA, 2010f) that will clarify how UST owners and operators can 

comply with EPA’s compatibility requirement, 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 risks related to the 

production and storage of biofuels, including ethanol-blended fuels, and possible impacts to 

water quality. 

Strategic Action 42: EPA intends to provide informational materials 

for stakeholders to encourage consideration of alternative sources 

of energy and fuels that are water efficient and maintain water 

quality. 

Alternative energy sources provide decreased reliance on fossil 

fuels. However, they still require access to water, and may still place 

added stress on water supplies. EPA intends to 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 intends to 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 43: As climate change affects the operation or placement of reservoirs, 

the NWP intends to 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 

To learn more about how NWP plans 

to encourage energy efficiency for 

water utilities, please see Goal 1, 

Strategic Action 2 in the Infrastructure 

section.
62 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 intends to 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 

Department of the Interior and other signatories of the Federal Hydropower Memorandum of 

Understanding (BOR, DOE, USACE) to further coordination and integration of hydropower and 

other water resource uses (BOR, 2010). 

GOAL 14: The NWP intends to 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, interstate, 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 intends to 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 44: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters and ground water. 

In order to respond to effects resulting from a changing climate, the NWP intends to understand the impacts to inland and coastal surface and ground waters. The NWP intends to support interagency monitoring networks by coordinating and collaborating with the EPA/State 

National Aquatic Resource Surveys (EPA, 2011n) and other agencies’ monitoring programs, as 

well as the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI), 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. The NWP also intends to continue to contribute to ACWI’s Subcommittee on Ground Water to establish and maintain a National Ground 

Water Monitoring Network to describe trends in interstate and regional changes in ground 

water quality and availability. Further, states should understand that funding is available to assist in water quality monitoring, including surface water and ground water, under Sections 106 

and 319 of the Clean Water Act. See also Strategic Action 2.

Strategic Action 45: 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.
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 63

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

EPA intends to work to update hydrological data and methods in collaboration with federal 

consortia (e.g., 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]) and engage 

partners (e.g., 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; 100-year, 24-hour storm events) and low-flow conditions in rivers and 

streams at the Hydrologic Unit Code 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.

Strategic Action 46: The NWP intends to 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 intends to 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 involved in 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 may be regulators for water programs and water 

resource managers for their communities, it is important that tribes are able to provide ongoing input and participate in NWP strategies and actions on climate change. It will be important 
64 Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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. 

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. 

Much of the work with tribes takes place within the EPA 

Regions, further described in Chapter V, Geographic Climate Regions. This section broadly describes 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 47: Through formal consultation and 

other mechanisms, the NWP intends to 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:

 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 multimedia strategies for addressing 

climate change impacts in Indian Country.

 Actions taken are informed by and consistent with the EPA Tribal Science Council’s 

climate change priorities and research recommendations. 

Strategic Action 48: The NWP intends to 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 appropriate and allowable by law. 

Examples of actions for the NWP to pursue include:

Working with Tribes

Examples of EPA Adaptation 

Activities 

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. 

In 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.
Programmatic Visions, Goals, and Strategic Actions 65

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 Provide information 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 General Assistance 

Program managed by the American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO) and Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE). 

 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.

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 49: The NWP intends to 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.

 Opportunities to leverage federal resources that can provide science information to 

tribes.

Strategic Action 50: The NWP intends to 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.

 Information for use in elementary, high school, and tribal college and university 

curricula.
66

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Geographic Climate Regions 67

V. Geographic Climate Regions

A. Introduction

T

HE 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, Sierra Nevada, 

and the Cascades was added 

to reflect its unique geographic features and expected climate change impacts 

(Figure 13). Further, while 

the 2000 Assessment also 

considered “Native Peoples 

and Native Homelands” as 

a Region, we have included 

tribal issues in Chapter IV, 

Programmatic Visions, Goals, 

and Strategic Actions. More 

detailed information on climate regions can be found on 

the USGCRP website (USGCRP, 

2012) and on EPA’s main climate website (www.epa.gov/climatechange). The NWP will incorporate new information about impacts in the various climate regions as it is developed. 

Several EPA Regions span multiple USGCRP regions (see Figure 13 and Table 3). Each EPA 

Region addresses a variety of climate impacts in their program implementation. This chapter 

describes strategic issues and key actions that the EPA Regions intend to focus on in the 

coming years, while the Regions also participate in the implementation of relevant strategic 

actions discussed in Chapter IV.

The federal government is working to deliver climate services not only at a national scale but 

also at regional scales. While similar climate characteristics can be grouped broadly within 

Alaska Great Plains Pacific

Islands

Caribbean

Islands

Midwest Northeast Pacific

Northwest

Montane Southeast Southwest

WA MT

OR ID

NV

CA

WY

UT CO

AZ NM

ND

TX

OK

KS

NE

SD

MN

IA

MO

IL

WI

MI

IN OH

KY

TN

AR

LA

MS AL GA

SC

Caribbean

Islands

Pacific Islands

Alaska

NC

WV

PA

NY

ME

FL

MD

VA

DE

DC

NJ

CT RI

MA

VT NH

Figure 13: Climate Regions as Adapted from USGCRP
68 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

the climate regions, mitigation, and adaption efforts tend to occur at a 

very localized scale. EPA intends to work with other federal agencies 

and stakeholders to consider the spatial variability of climate change 

when addressing climate impacts. Examples of federal agencies 

working to develop localized climate-related services, and with whom 

each of the EPA Regional programs intends to collaborate, include:

 DOI in support of LCCs 

 DOI in support of CSC

 NOAA RISAs

 Interagency/NOAA-led National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)

 NOAA National Climatic Data Centers

 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 toward achieving their long-term goals, and close collaboration among these federal climate related services will be important to achieve the strategic 

actions described in this strategy.

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:

 GI and LID. 

 Water efficiency and conservation through the WaterSense program. 

 Building sustainability of water and wastewater infrastructure through the CRWU 

program.

 Improving energy efficiency through the EUM program. 

 Promoting proactive, holistic aquatic ecosystem conservation and protection through 

the HWI.

 Developing tools for coastal resources via the CRE program and the NEP. 

Table 3: USGCRP Climate 

Regions and EPA Regions

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
Geographic Climate Regions 69

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 Protecting underground sources of drinking 

water by implementing the Geologic Sequestration rule.

 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. 

In addition, working with partners throughout the 

Regions will be key. One example of partners are the 

six interstate basin commissions that receive CWA 

106 funding (Table 4) along with various other interstate commissions (ICWP, 2012).

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 EPA 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 EPA Administrator’s June 1, 2011, Policy Statement on Adaptation (EPA, 2011a). 

This section 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 levels. Links are provided to Regional 

websites where more information can be found. 

Northeast Region 

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; therefore, addressing 

sea level rise and other coastal issues is of particular importance.

Table 4: Interstate 

Organizations Receiving CWA 

106 Funds

 New England Interstate Water Pollution 

Control Commission 

 Interstate Environmental Commission 

(NY/NJ)

 Interstate Commission of the Potomac 

River Basin 

 Delaware River Basin Commission 

 Susquehanna River Basin Commission 

 Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation 

Commission

Region 1: http://www.epa.gov/region1/climatechange/index.html

Region 2: http://www.epa.gov/region2/climate/

Region 3: http://www.epa.gov/reg3artd/globclimate/
70 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goal

EPA programs in the Northeast Region intend to 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 storms, 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.

 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 freshwater runoff, and acidification will change aquatic 

ecosystem species composition and distribution. This will also result in the 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. 

 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 that the Baltimore, D.C., Richmond axis is the southern portion of the densely populated Boston–D.C. 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 described in the introduction to this chapter, 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:
Geographic Climate Regions 71

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 Standardizing regional assumptions regarding future climate change impacts.

 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 intends to serve as a leader, coordinator, and facilitator on mitigation and adaptation activities within the region. These activities 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/NOC 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 structural and nonstructural floodplain and riparian zone management strategies that recognize that intact and well-managed watersheds are more resilient to 

severe storms, and absorb impacts and help balance flows over time.

 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)

 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

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 

Region 3: http://www.epa.gov/reg3artd/globclimate/

Region 4: http://www.epa.gov/region4/clean_energy/index.html

Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6/climatechange/water.htm
72 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 multimedia 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, multimedia workgroup. These workgroups intend to 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 increase resiliency. 

 Current Data: Update changing precipitation patterns, stream hydrology, and available water resources data and reflect them 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: Build state programs’ capacities and technical skills for 

implementing the Geological Sequestration Rule for Class VI wells and related permitting program.

 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. 
Geographic Climate Regions 73

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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 2 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 heatrelated 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

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs described in the introduction to this chapter, 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.

•	 Engage with the South Atlantic Alliance and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, to promote resilience and reduce the impacts of (and adapt to) climate change.

•	 Continue to engage with the National Ocean Policy/NOC and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force to assist in adapting to and reducing the effects of 

sea level rise.

•	 Develop pilot regional partnerships with FEMA’s Long Term Community Recovery Program to encourage pre-disaster planning and 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.
74 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

•	 Host GI training workshops and installation of GI demonstration projects. Region 4 

has an ongoing project with the city of Jacksonville, Florida, 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 Geological Sequestration 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 

intends to continue to work with tribal communities to provide timely and effective 

access to and sharing of climate change information for building mitigation and 

adaptation capacities in Indian Country. 

Midwest Region

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. 

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/si.htm
Geographic Climate Regions 75

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 to 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 ground water and surface water quality and quantity.

 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 

cleanup 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 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. Additionally, warming water in the Great Lakes 

will increase the threat of invasive species, such as zebra and quagga mussels. 
76 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 Warmer water may also exacerbate the impacts that nutrient loading has on 

water bodies. More intense rainfall could increase fertilizer runoff and other forms 

of pollutant loading to water bodies. Increased use of tile and other drainage 

management practices as a means to abate flooding of agricultural fields may 

also carry unintended consequences of increasing pollutant loading to streams 

and lakes.

 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. 

 Work with states to adopt and implement EPA’s Nutrient Management Framework.

 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.

 Continue working with environmental justice populations, especially in CSO communities, to improve access to climate change information and to consider adaptation 

strategies.

Great Plains Region

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 10 states in 

three EPA Regions (6, 7, and 8) 

are located in this vast grassland prairie, which is home to some 9 million people, with the population expected to grow 

to about 14 million by 2050. The population gains will largely be in urban areas. 

Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/region6/climatechange/water.htm

Region 7: http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/si.htm

Region 8: http://www.epa.gov/region8/climatechange/
Geographic Climate Regions 77

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Key issues in this region relate to general population growth; loss of snowpack and declining surface and ground water 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 provide 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

 Protection of vulnerable populations

Working specifically with partners in the agricultural sector; the renewable energy sector; and 

the oil, gas, and mining sectors, 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 should 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 could negatively impact the 

biological function of aquatic ecosystems. 

 As in the Midwest climate region, warmer water may also exacerbate the impacts 

that nutrient loading has on water bodies. More intense rainfall could increase fertilizer runoff and other forms of pollutant loading to water bodies. Increased use of tile 

and other drainage management practices as a means to abate flooding of agricultural fields may also carry unintended consequences of increasing pollutant loading 

to streams and lakes.

 Water-quality impacts will be amplified by increases in precipitation intensity and 

longer periods of low flow in streams.
78 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategic Actions

In addition to promoting the core climate programs described in the introduction to this chapter, EPA intends to undertake the following efforts in the Great Plains Region:

 Water Quality Protection and Restoration

•	 Work to reduce nonpoint sources of pollution to rivers and streams by leveraging 

the EPA’s Office of Water’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. 

•	 Exercise regulatory oversight of UIC permitting for carbon sequestration.

•	 Work with states to adopt and implement EPA’s Nutrient Management Framework.

 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.

•	 Continue to work with tribal communities to provide access to climate change information, mitigation and adaptation strategies, and funding options to provide the 

long-term viability of natural and cultural resources that support Native American 

populations. 

Southwest Region 

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 Region 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 
Geographic Climate Regions 79

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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. 

Goals

The long-term goals of EPA in the Southwest Region are to work with federal, state, interstate, 

tribal, and local partners to:

 Increase the number of communities and utilities conducting climate change vulnerability assessments and implementing the resulting recommendations.

 Work with partners and stakeholders to evaluate and reduce the impacts of future 

drought and flooding on surface and ground water resources.

 Protect water quality and quantity to reduce stress on ecosystems.

 Address sea level rise by working 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. 

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. 

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/
80 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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.

 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 described in the introduction to this chapter, EPA intends to undertake the following efforts in the Southwest:

 Encourage funding programs to fund GI, energy and water-efficient upgrades to infrastructure, and water conservation.

 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.

 Build partners’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and the capacity to respond to, 

risks of climate change and water.

 Work with states and local governments to expand water sources, storage, and 

recovery options (e.g., aquifer storage and recharge, water reuse, desalination) for 

areas experiencing snow pack loss and drought.

Pacific Northwest Region

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 

current impacts related to 

changes in snowpack, stream flows, sea level, forests, and other important aspects of life in 

the Northwest, with more severe impacts expected over the coming decades in response to 

continued and more rapid climate change. 

Region 8: http://www.epa.gov/region8/climatechange/

Region 10: http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/

climate+change/cc
Geographic Climate Regions 81

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goals

The long-term goals of EPA in the Northwest Region are to work with federal, state, interstate, 

tribal, and local partners to increase sustainability and reduce vulnerability of communities 

and infrastructure, including by conserving water and increasing infiltration, and to partner 

with other federal agencies and the regional CSC 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 tradeoffs 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. 

 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 described in the introduction to this chapter, EPA intends to undertake the following efforts in the Northwest Region: 

 Sustainability

•	 Encourage sustainable infrastructure approaches. 

•	 Implement water conservation measures. 

•	 Expand use of GI. 

•	 Encourage communities and utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and 

implement resulting recommendations.
82 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 Water Quality

•	 Implement water quality programs factoring in climate change to reduce stress on 

the ecosystem. 

 Collaboration

•	 Collaborate with the LCCs. 

•	 Engage in Western Governors Association climate adaptation activities. 

•	 Partner with the CSC and other federal agencies. 

•	 Engage tribes in federal climate conversations and activities.

Montane Region

The Montane region, in EPA Regions 8, 9, and 10, includes three glaciated mountain ranges: 

the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and the 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 toward 

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]

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.

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
Geographic Climate Regions 83

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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 fresh 

water 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 tradeoffs 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. 

 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 described in the introduction 

to this chapter, 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 the USFWS, other DOI agencies, states, tribes, and others involved 

in LCCs 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.

 Engage tribes in federal climate conversations and activities. 

Alaska Region

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, 

Region 10: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/homepage/water
84 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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.

 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 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. 

 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.
Geographic Climate Regions 85

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Strategic Actions

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs described in the introduction to this chapter, EPA intends to undertake the following work in Alaska: 

 Infrastructure

•	 Encourage sustainable infrastructure approaches.

•	 Encourage communities and utilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and 

implement resulting recommendations.

•	 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 LCCs 

and Climate Science Center in Alaska. 

•	 Partner with other federal agencies to coordinate and leverage climate research 

and other activities. 

•	 Engage tribes in federal climate conversations and activities.

•	 Work with key federal, state, local, and tribal governments to assist communities 

that are evaluating relocation options as potential adaptation actions. 

Caribbean Islands Region

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 population’s 

freshwater needs. However, aquifers also play an important role in providing fresh water, 

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 

Region 2: http://www.epa.gov/region2/climate/
86 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

source of fresh water 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 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 waterrelated infrastructure and to increase their resilience to extreme storm events.

 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 salt water 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 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 
Geographic Climate Regions 87

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

making calcium less available for calcification. Lower pH could also accelerate erosion of existing structures. 

 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

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs described in the introduction to this chapter:

 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), the National Weather Service, and other relevant federal and Commonwealth agencies to 

disseminate information and provide outreach to managers of PR’s water infrastructure with 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 so they implement disaster risk reduction measures in the underwriting 

criteria of their policies. 

 Engage environmental justice (EJ) populations in education on climate change impacts and planning for climate change adaptation. 

Pacific Islands Region 

The Pacific Islands region in EPA Region 9 encompasses the Hawaiian Islands as well as 

the U.S.-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 fresh water, adverse impacts to coastal and marine ecosystems, and exposure to hazards, including sea level rise and inundation. 

Region 9: http://www.epa.gov/region09/climatechange/
88 Geographic Climate Regions

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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.

 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, and 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 governments to 

ensure delivery of basic water and sewer and other public health services.

 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 saltwater 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. 
Geographic Climate Regions 89

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

•	 Sea level rise increases the potential for saltwater 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.

Strategic Actions

In addition to continuing to implement the ongoing climate programs described in the introduction to this chapter:

 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 CWA.

 Work with local, state, and federal agencies to invest in local utility managers and 

employees for the long term so 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.

 Engage cultural leaders and EJ populations in education on climate change impacts 

and planning for climate change adaptation.
90 

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Cross-Cutting Program Support 91

VI. Cross-Cutting Program Support

A. Goal 17: Communication, Collaboration, and Training

Strategic Action 51: Continue building the communication, collaboration, and training 

mechanisms needed to effectively increase adaptive capacity at the federal, tribal, state, and 

local levels. 

The NWP intends to continue building the communication, collaboration, and training mechanisms needed to effectively increase adaptive capacity at the federal, tribal, state, and local 

levels, including nongovernmental and private sector stakeholders. 

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 associated with water are 

valuable resources for modulating climate impacts.

 Water management strategies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to 

climate change. 

 Programmatic actions are being taken to address 

climate change.

 Information and tools are needed to inform action.

 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.

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
92 Cross-Cutting Program Support

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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 

freshwater resources 

and communities.

 Economically disadvantaged communities that may already have a deficit in the ability to respond to impacts.

 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. 

 The private sector who are working to protect their 

investments while responsibly managing natural 

resources.

 Federal agencies with which EPA collaborates.

In addition to the avenues discussed throughout this document 

for training and tool development, the NWP intends to provide 

communication outlets including:

 National Water Program Climate Change & Water 

Website 

 EPA Climate Change & Water News E-Newsletter

 Climate Ready Water Utilities website and toolbox

 Webcasts and Webinars – to provide opportunities for 

targeted training

Examples of Regional Collaboration Goals:

 Region 1 Federal Partners Group

http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/energy/adaptationefforts-epane.html.

 Region 4 Southeast Natural Resources Leadership Group

http://www.epa.gov/region4/topics/envmanagement/

senrlg/index.htm.

 Region 9 Water-Energy Team of the California Climate 

Action Team (WET-CAT)

http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/wetcat/index.html.

 Great Lakes Statement of Common Purpose

http://collaborate.csc.noaa.gov/nroc/default.aspx.

 Gulf of Mexico Alliance Action Plan II for Healthy and 

Resilient Coasts, 2009-2014

http://www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org/pdfs/ap2_final2.

pdf?#Page=8.

Examples of Federal 

Collaborative Forums 

 Interagency Climate Change 

Adaptation Task Force, 

Freshwater Workgroup

 White House Office of 

Science & Technology Policy 

Subcommittee on Water 

Availability and Quality

 U.S. Global Change Research 

Program 

 Climate Change Adaptation 

Work Group
Cross-Cutting Program Support 93

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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

 Annual reports and periodic updates

The NWP intends to 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 

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, and some are noted in the text box below.

The NWP intends to work to expand opportunities for 

dialogue through both formal and informal discussion. For example, ACWI and the National Drinking 

Water Advisory Committee (NDWAC) are key Federal 

Advisory Committees (FACAs). The NWP’s STC3 is an 

important discussion forum with state and tribal coregulators. Collaboration with sector partnerships is a 

particularly important avenue 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 state, tribal, and local government agencies as 

well as with other federal agencies to more effectively 

deliver services. Information on Regional partnerships 

can be found in Chapter V, Geographic Climate Regions. 

Federal partnerships are also essential to leveraging 

resources and building national capability for adaptation. The NWP intends to 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 

Federal Sources of Climate 

Change Information 

EPA

Water & Climate Change: 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
94 Cross-Cutting Program Support

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

the translation of climate impact projections into materials tailored for NWP partners and 

constituents, including regionally specific information. The NWP intends to work to make information available, including training to help practitioners apply new tools. The NWP intends 

to 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 such as the NPDES Permit Writers training, the Watershed 

Academy, the Water Quality Standards Academy, and the Drinking Water Capacity 

Development Program that reach out to practitioners. 

 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.

 Conflict Resolution is a field that can help to build skills for collaborating and consensus building for working effectively with stakeholders. The NWP intends to work with 

partners and stakeholders to draw on 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 NIDIS, NOAA RISAs, and 

the LCCs and CSCs launched by DOI.

 The interagency CCAWWG, under the leadership of the Bureau of Reclamation, is 

working to establish a training program for water resource managers.

B. Goal 18: Tracking Progress and Measuring Outcomes

Strategic Action 52: Adopt a phased approach to track programmatic progress towards Strategic Actions; achieve commitments reflected in the Agency Strategic Plan; work with an 

EPA workgroup 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. The NWP intends to work to develop and refine these measures, including ways 

to measure outcomes. Tracking progress for climate change adaptation poses its own challenges, including how to evaluate avoided losses. 
Cross-Cutting Program Support 95

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 is adopting a phased 

approach that uses indicators of progress and 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 intends to 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 activities. An annual reporting process will assemble information for evaluating and publicly 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 intends 

to 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 5 presents a summary of the seven phases. 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 to 3 years).

In addition to the process to track progress described in Table 5, EPA’s 2011–2015 Strategic 

Plan includes measures for climate change adaptation and mitigation actions, listed in 

Table 6. This 2012 Strategy reflects the NWP’s commitment to achieve these measures. An 

EPA workgroup has undertaken a process to refine and update the Agency’s measures to 

reflect outcomes toward desired objectives. The NWP intends to work with the above mentioned EPA workgroup to develop outcome measures applicable to the NWP.

Table 5: Phases of Adaptive Management

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.

 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.
96 Cross-Cutting Program Support

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Table 5: Phases of Adaptive Management

2. Assess- ment

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.

 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.

3. Response 

Development

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.

 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.
Cross-Cutting Program Support 97

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Table 5: Phases of Adaptive Management (cont.)

4. Initial 

Implementation

Initiate 

actions in selected priority 

programs or 

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.

5. Robust 

Implementation

Programs are 

underway 

and lessons 

learned are 

being applied 

to additional 

programs and 

projects.

 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.

6. Mainstreaming

Climate is an 

embedded, 

component of 

the program. 

 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 decision processes intrinsically incorporate 

climate change.

 Methods for evaluating outcomes are in 

place.

7. Monitoring 

and Adaptive 

Management 

Continue to 

monitor and 

integrate 

performance, 

new information, and lessons learned 

into programs 

and plans.

 Progress is evaluated and needed changes 

are implemented.

 As impacts of climate change unfold, 

climate change impacts and organizational 

responses are reassessed.
98 Cross-Cutting Program Support

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Table 6: 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.
Cross-Cutting Program Support 99

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

C. Goal 19: Climate Change and Water Research Needs

Strategic Action 53: Work with the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, 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. Implementation of this strategy will incorporate new research and tools as they become available. 

The NWP collaborates with and relies on the broader research community, including EPA 

ORD, federal science agencies (e.g., USGS, NOAA, USGCRP), drinking water and water quality 

research associations (e.g., WRF, WERF), academia, and others. The NWP is also a member of 

CCAWWG, a “working level” forum for sharing 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 intends to 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).

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.
National Water Program 2012 Strategy

100 Cross-Cutting Program Support www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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. 

5. Develop a rapid response protocol to incorporate the results of the ongoing monitoring data into permitting, planning, and resource allocation decisions.

6. Develop tools for prioritizing response actions that take into account potential for 

both adaptation and GHG mitigation, especially for wetlands protection and restoration.

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 freshwater 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 sea 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.
Cross-Cutting Program Support 101

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 ground water to inform IWRM. 

Model potential changes to flood regulation, ground water recharge, and surface 

water base flow, given scenarios of wetlands loss, including from increased ground 

water pumping. Assess different types of wetlands’ capacity to adapt to climate 

change.

C. Co-benefits: Characterize co-benefits of healthy watersheds, GI, and site conditions 

where GI is cost-effective and where it is not:

1. Identify climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that lead to water 

quality improvements, such as increased ground water recharge and stormwater 

runoff mitigation and reduced cost for stormwater management and green space 

connectivity.

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 water quality based effluent limitations or effluent limitation guidelines. Identify 

contaminants that may more greatly affect public water system noncompliance 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. 
National Water Program 2012 Strategy

102 Cross-Cutting Program Support www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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. Traditional Ecological Knowledge: 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.
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Appendices 103

VII. Appendices

Appendix A: Principles for an Energy Water Future – The 

Foundation for a Sustainable America

Principles for an Energy Water Future

A 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 rising water treatment costs or necessary tradeoffs such as stricter water treatment 

levels can be mitigated by efforts elsewhere such as reducing demand for energy and water.

Efficiency in the use 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 labeled products, supplemented by 

informed and wise use of resources.

 Improving system-level energy and water efficiency by water, wastewater, stormwater, and energy utilities and encouraging 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.

 Relying on education and outreach, in collaboration with local communities, to be at 

the forefront of encouraging efficiency. 

The exploration, production, transmission, and use of energy should have the smallest impact 

on water resources as possible, in terms of water quality and water quantity. EPA supports:

 Reducing consumption or use of water for producing energy and fuels: reduce, recover, reuse, and recycle.
104 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 Analyzing, recognizing, and minimizing any impacts on groundwater, water quality, 

water quantity, and the aquatic environment, including wetlands, when choosing 

between sources of energy.

 Practicing good stewardship to minimize potential impacts and avoid contaminants 

that reduce water’s value or require additional 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.

 Establishing plans to repair leaks in water distribution and wastewater collection 

systems. 

 Using nearby water sources where available, including rain harvesting and recycled 

water.

 Treating water to a level that matches the end use.

 Avoiding unnecessary transport of water and wastewater for treatment or disposal.

Wastewater 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, such as 

methane gas, as a source of renewable energy that can be used by treatment plants 

to reduce net ‘on-grid’ energy use or to become zero net energy consumers.

 Using wastewater for irrigation, accounting for the nutrients in the water as a way to 

reduce the need for additional fertilizers.

 Recycling or reusing water for appropriate uses with no resulting loss of downstream 

use and habitat, minimizing energy used for treatment, and becoming a reliable 

source for the future.

 Extracting and recycling nutrients from wastewater.

The water and energy sectors – governments, utilities, manufacturers, and consumers – 

should move toward integrated energy and water management 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 energy and water management, maximize 

efficiencies, and avoid unintended consequences.

 Encouraging partnerships between government and service providers to leverage 

and expand upon existing successes and institutions.
Appendices 105

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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.

 Planning to build resiliency for climate change impacts on water infrastructure and 

water quality to minimize vulnerabilities.

Appendix B: Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices6

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. 

Goals and Strategic Actions Lead Office 

(& Partners)

Goal 1: 

Build the body of information and tools 

needed to incorporate climate change 

into planning and 

decision making.

SA1: Improve access to vetted climate and hydrological 

science, modeling, and assessment tools through the 

Climate Ready Water Utilities program.

OGWDW 

(OWM)

SA2: Assist wastewater and water utilities to reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions and increase long-term 

sustainability with a combination of energy efficiency, 

co-generation, and increased use of renewable energy 

resources

OWM 

(OGWDW)

SA3: Work with the states and public water systems, 

particularly small water systems, to identify and plan 

for climate change challenges to drinking water safety 

and to assist in meeting health based drinking water 

standards.

OGWDW

SA4: Promote sustainable design approaches to provide 

for the long-term sustainability of infrastructure and 

operations.

OWM 

(OGWDW)

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
106 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices (cont.)

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.

OWM 

(OGWDW)

SA6: Evaluate and provide technical assistance on the 

use of water demand management strategies.

OWM 

(OGWDW)

SA7: Increase cross-sector knowledge of water supply 

climate challenges and develop watershed specific information to inform decision making.

OW IO (All 

OW Offices)

Watersheds & Wetlands: Watersheds are protected, maintained, and restored to 

provide 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.

Goals and Strategic Actions Lead Office 

(& Partners)

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.

OWOW

SA9: Collaborate with partners on terrestrial ecosystems and hydrology so that effects on water quality and 

aquatic ecosystems are considered.

OWOW

SA10: Integrate protection of healthy watersheds 

throughout the NWP core programs. OWOW

SA11: Increase public awareness of the role and importance of healthy watersheds in reducing the impacts of 

climate change.

OWOW

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. OWOW

SA13: Work with federal, state, interstate, tribal, and local partners to protect and restore the natural resources 

and functions of riverine and coastal floodplains as a 

means of building resiliency and protecting water quality. 

OWOW
Appendices 107

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices (cont.)

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.

OGWDW

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. 

OGWDW

Goal 6: 

EPA incorporates 

climate change considerations into its 

wetlands programs, 

including the CWA 

404 program, as 

appropriate.

SA16: Consider the effects of climate change, as appropriate, when making significant degradation determinations in the CWA Section 404 wetlands permitting and 

enforcement program. 

OWOW

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.

OWOW

Goal 7: 

Improve baseline 

information on 

wetland extent, 

condition, and performance to inform 

long term planning 

and priority setting 

that takes into account the potential 

added benefits for 

climate change adaptation and carbon 

sequestration.

SA18: Expand wetland mapping by supporting wetland 

mapping coalitions and training on use of the new federal 

Wetland Mapping Standard.

OWOW

SA19: Produce a statistically valid ecological condition 

assessment of the nation’s wetlands. OWOW

SA20: Work with partners and stakeholders to develop 

information and tools to support long term planning and 

priority setting for wetland restoration projects.

OWOW
108 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices (cont.)

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.

Goals and Strategic Actions Lead Office 

(& Partners)

Goal 8: 

Collaborate so that 

information and 

methodologies for 

ocean and coastal 

areas are collected, 

produced, analyzed, 

and easily available.

SA21: Collaborate so that synergy occurs, lessons 

learned are transferred, federal efforts effectively help 

local communities, and efforts are not duplicative or at 

cross-purposes.

OWOW

SA22: Work within EPA and with the U.S. Global Change 

Research Program and other federal, tribal, and state 

agencies to collect, produce, analyze, and format 

knowledge and information needed to protect ocean and 

coastal areas and make it easily available.

OWOW

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.

SA23: Work with the NWP’s larger geographic programs 

to incorporate climate change considerations, focusing 

on both the natural and built environments.

OWOW 

(Regions)

SA24: Address climate change adaptation and build 

stakeholder capacity when implementing NEP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans and 

through the Climate Ready Estuaries Program.

OWOW

SA25: 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.

OWOW

Goal 10: 

Address climate 

driven environmental changes in 

coastal areas and 

provide that mitigation and adaptation 

are conducted in 

an environmentally 

responsible manner.

SA26: Support coastal wastewater, stormwater, and 

drinking water infrastructure owners and operators 

in reducing climate risks and encourage adaptation in 

coastal areas.

OWOW

SA27: Support climate readiness of coastal communities, including hazard mitigation, pre-disaster planning, 

preparedness, and recovery efforts.

OWOW

SA28: Support preparation and response planning for 

impacts to coastal aquatic environments. OWOW
Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange Appendices 109

Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices (cont.)

Goal 11: 

Protect ocean 

environments by 

incorporating shifting environmental 

conditions and 

other emerging 

threats into EPA 

programs.

SA29: Consider climate change impacts on marine water 

quality in NWP ocean management authorities, policies, 

and programs.

OWOW

SA30: Use available authorities and work with the 

Regional Ocean Organizations and other federal and 

state agencies through regional ocean groups and other 

networks so that offshore renewable energy production 

does not adversely affect the marine environment.

OWOW 

(Regions)

SA31: Support the evaluation of sub-seabed sequestration of CO2

 and any proposals for ocean fertilization. OWOW

SA32: Participate in interagency development and implementation of federal strategies through the NOC and the 

NOC Strategic Action Plans.

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. 

Goals and Strategic Actions Lead Office 

(& Partners)

Goal 12: 

Protect waters of 

the United States 

and promote management of sustainable surface water 

resources.

SA33: Encourage states and communities to incorporate 

climate change considerations into their water quality 

planning.

OWOW

SA34: Encourage green infrastructure and low-impact 

development to protect water quality and make watersheds more resilient.

OWM 

(OWOW)

SA35: Promote consideration of climate change impacts 

by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

permitting authorities.

OWM

SA36: Encourage water quality authorities to consider 

climate change impacts when developing wasteload and 

load allocations in TMDLs where appropriate.

OWOW

SA37: Identify and protect designated uses that are at 

risk from climate change impacts. OST (OWM)

SA38: 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.

OST
110 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices (cont.)

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.

SA39: Continue to provide perspective on the water 

resource implications of new energy technologies.

OWM 

(OGWDW)

SA40: Provide assistance to states and permittees to 

assure that geologic sequestration of CO2

 is responsibly 

managed.

OGWDW 

(OWOW)

SA41: Continue to work with States to help them identify 

polluted waters, including those affected by biofuels 

production, and help them develop and implement Total 

Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for those waters. 

OGWDW 

(OWOW, 

OWM)

SA42: Provide informational materials for stakeholders 

to encourage the consideration of alternative sources 

of energy and fuels that are water efficient and maintain 

water quality. 

OWM 

(OW IO)

SA43: 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.

OWM

Goal 14: 

Collaborate to make 

hydrological and 

climate data and 

projections available.

SA44: Monitor climate change impacts to surface waters 

and ground water.

OWOW 

(OGWDW)

SA45: 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.

OW IO

SA46: Enhance flow estimation using National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus). OWOW
Appendices 111

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Goals and Strategic Actions: Lead Offices (cont.)

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. 

Goals and Strategic Actions Lead Office 

(& Partners)

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 

multi-media basis.

SA47: Through formal consultation and other mechanisms, incorporate climate change as a key consideration in the revised NWP Tribal Strategy and subsequent 

implementation of CWA, SDWA, and other core programs.

OW IO

SA48: Incorporate adaptation into tribal funding mechanisms, and collaborate with other EPA and federal funding programs to support sustainability and adaptation in 

tribal communities. 

OW IO

Goal 16: 

Tribes have access 

to information on 

climate change for 

decision making. 

SA49: Collaborate to explore and develop climate change 

science, information, and tools for tribes, and incorporate local knowledge. 

OW IO

SA50: Collaborate to develop communication materials 

relevant for tribal uses and tribal audiences. OW IO

Cross-Cutting Program Support

Goals and Strategic Actions Lead Office 

(& Partners)

Goal 17: 

Communicate, Collaborate, and Train.

SA51: Continue building the communication, collaboration, and training mechanisms needed to effectively 

increase adaptive capacity at the federal, tribal, state, 

and local levels.

OW IO

Goal 18: 

Track Progress and 

Measure Outcomes

SA52: 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

Goal 19: 

Identify Climate 

Change and Water 

Research Needs

SA53: 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. 

OST (OW IO)
112 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 

GAP General Assistance Program 

GHG Greenhouse gas

GI Green Infrastructure

HAB Harmful algal bloom 

HUC Hydrologic Unit Code 

HUD Housing and Urban Development 

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 

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)

Appendix C: List of Abbreviations
Appendices 113

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 

Appendix D: 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-Chesapeake-LaunchesMajor-Initiatives-and-Holds-Government-Accountable-for-Progress.aspx.
114 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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. 

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_instructions_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, 2011. 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. 
Appendices 115

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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, 2009. Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under 

Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act - Final Rule, 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (Dec. 15, 2009). Available 

at: http://epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/endangerment/Federal_Register-EPA-HQ-OAR2009-0171-Dec.15-09.pdf.

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/. 

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/Day-08/

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/. 
116 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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, 2010g. Guidelines on Water Efficiency Measures for Water Supply Projects in the 

Southeast, USEPA Region 4, June 21, 2010. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/water/

wetlands/documents/guidelineso_wate_efficienc_measures.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/wp-content/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.

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-epa-moa.

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/. 
Appendices 117

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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, 2012a. EPA Climate Change Website, Impacts and Adaptation page. Available at: 

http://epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/index.html.

EPA, 2012b. Energy Use Assessment Tool. Available at: 

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/energy_use.cfm.

EPA, 2012c. EPA Green Infrastructure Strategy web site can be found at:

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/index.cfm. 

EPA, 2012d. Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Plans. EPA policy memos. 

Available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.cfm.

EPA-OAR, 2011. 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.

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.

ICWP, 2012. Interstate Council on Water Policy. Website: http://www.icwp.org.
118 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: 

Synthesis. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005. 

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-CRWU-10.pdf.

NOC, 2012. The National Ocean Council. Available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/

administration/eop/oceans. 

NRC 2009. Ecological Impacts of Climate Change. National Academy of Sciences. Available 

at: http://dels-old.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/ecological_impacts.pdf.

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.
Appendices 119

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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). Available at: 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. 

Opperman, 2010. Opperman, Jeffrey, Luster, Ryan, et.al. Ecologically Functional Floodplains: 

Connectivity, Flow Regime, and Scale. Journal of the American Water Resources Association

46(2): 211-226, 2010.

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-for-water.

org/Documents/nationalreport_final.pdf.

USACE, 2010b. Federal Support Toolbox for IWRM. Available at: http://www.building-collaboration-for-water.org/.

USBR, 2005. Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D.C., 32 pp. Available at: http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps36032/

Water2025.pdf.

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/.

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.
120 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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.

USGCRP, 2012. U.S. Global Change Research Program, National Climate Assessment. Information available at: http://www.globalchange.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic

le&id=417&Itemid=401.

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/PublicationProfile.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, 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005. Available 

at: http://www.maweb.org/documents/document.358.aspx.pdf.

Appendix E: Acknowledgements

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, Patrick Maloney, Karen Metchis, John Powers, Michael Shapiro, Felicia Wright 

Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water

Curt Baranowski, Rachel Herbert, Keara Moore, Mike Muse, David Travers, John Whitler

Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds

Michael Craghan, Paul Cough, Holly Elwell, Laura Gabanski, Kathleen Kutschenreuter, 

Bernice Smith
Appendices 121

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Office of Wastewater Management

Veronica Blette, Caitlin Gregg, Randy Hill, Sarita Hoyt

Office of Science and Technology

Rachael Novak

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, 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, Suzanne Marr, Cheryl McGovern, Karen Schwinn

Region 10: Paula VanHaagen, Sharon Wilson

Great Lakes Program: John Haugland

Gulf of Mexico Program: John Bowie

Other EPA Contributors 

EPA Office of Air and Radiation

 Rona Birnbaum

 Jeremy Martinich

 William Perkins

EPA Office of Policy 

 Catherine Allen

 Leah Cohen

 Gerald Filbin

 Joel Scheraga

EPA Office of Research and Development 

 James Goodrich

 Anne Grambsch 

 Tom Johnson

 Andy Miller

 Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta

 Suzanne VanDrunick

 Chris Weaver

 Jeff Yang
122 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

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 Clean Water Administrators (ACWA, formerly ASIWPCA)

 Dave Akers, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

 Arthur Baggett, California State Water Resources Control Board

 Carol Collier, Delaware River Basin Commission

 Alexandra Dunn, ACWA

 Susan Kirsch, ACWA

 Janet Llewellyn, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

 Sara Vinson, ACWA

 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
Appendices 123

Response to Climate Change

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

 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

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
124 Appendices

National Water Program 2012 Strategy

www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

Association Partners

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and the Water Research Foundation 

(WaterRF), which 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), which provided valuable input and support throughout this process.

The Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) members, who have provided leadership on climate 

change.

Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group of the National Drinking Water Advisory Committee for their leadership and commitment to this issue.
The real wealth of the Nation lies 

in the resources of the earth — 

soil, water, forests, minerals, 

and wildlife.

— Rachel Carson
Office of Water (4101M)

EPA-850-K-12-004

December 2012

National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change 

To view the document online, visit: http://www.epa.gov/water/climatechange

To order a hard copy, visit: http://www.epa.gov/nscep/