Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department Climate Change Impacts and Infrastructure Adaptation Maurice Tobon, P.E. Director of Engineering Stephen McGrew, P.E., Manager Plant Design May 2011
AWWA Statement on Climate Change The American Water Works Association recognizes that global climate changes will have major impacts on the hydrologic cycle and, therefore, have the potential to significantly affect water supplies.
Global Climate Change Affects South Florida will be most affected by these climate change impacts: Sea Level Rise Salt Intrusion Flooding Inflow & Infiltration
Tropical Storm Activity Storm Frequency Storm Intensity
Precipitation Patterns Wetter wets, dryer dries
Future Demand Forecast Population Growth/Loss
Sea Level Rise
Source: A Unified Sea Level Rise Projection for Southeast Florida, Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact Counties April 2011
Increased Tropical Activity
Emanuel, 2007 “Power Dissipation Index” (PDI) of tropical cyclones, defined as the sum of the cubed estimated maximum sustained surface wind speeds at 6-hour intervals accumulated over each Atlantic tropical cyclone from the late 1940s to 2003.
Increased Tropical Activity
Modeled Impact of Anthropogenic Warming on the Frequency of Intense Atlantic Hurricanes Morris A. Bender, Et al. 2010
.
Greater Rainfall Variability
Source: Climate Change & Water Management, SFWMD Nov, 2009
Utilities Infrastructure Adaptation Diversification of Water Resources (Lack of Regional Storage and Herbert Hoover Dike Repair at Lake Okeechobee)
Hurricane Hardening and Disaster Recovery Salt Water Intrusion/Inland Supply Facility Planning Reducing Infiltration/Inflow
Diverse Water Resources ASR (Aquifer Storage and Recovery) C-51 Reservoir (surface water storage) Wastewater Reuse (supplement local groundwater, multiple use water)
C-51 Reservoir
WEAP Model Created a Dynamic Decision Support System (D2S2) in conjunction with Water Research Foundation (WRF) UF, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and PBS&J Used Water Evaluation and Planning Tool (WEAP) platform, developed by the Stockholm Institute Includes 112 climate change projections High level planning model, calibrated with over 20 years of past climate data and canal levels Incorporates population projections and the PBC WUD Capital Improvement program
WEAP Model Results Reservoir Storage Reservoir Storage Volume All Reservoirs (7), All months (12)
Dry Wet
8,900 8,800 8,700 8,600 8,500 8,400 8,300 8,200 8,100 8,000 7,900 7,800 7,700 7,600
Thousand Acre-foot
7,500 7,400 7,300 7,200 7,100 7,000 6,900 6,800 6,700 6,600 6,500 6,400 6,300 6,200 6,100 6,000 5,900 5,800 5,700 5,600 5,500 5,400 May Apr Mar Mar Mar Mar Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Jan Jan Jan Jan Dec Dec Dec Dec Nov Nov Nov Nov Oct Oct Oct Oct Sep Sep Sep Sep Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Jul Jul Jul Jul Jun 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048
Includes: Kissimmee Lakes, Lake Okeechobee, C-51, L-8
Alternative Water Supply Reclaimed Water – 25 MGD Created Wetlands – 5 MGD
Industrial Cooling Water Reuse for the FP&L West County Energy Center- 27 MGD Palm Beach County Water Utilities Water Conservation Leader in South Florida – over 13 billion gallons/year
Wakodahatchee Wetlands
Hurricane Preparedness Hardening of Facilities Water and Wastewater Plants Regional Pump Stations Operations Centers Designing Cat 5 Communications and Server Rooms
Post Disaster Recovery FlaWARN - Mutual Aid Design-Build Contract for Emergency Rebuilding
Hurricane Hardening Treatment Facilities
Removing Skylights
Hurricane Hardening Treatment Facilities
Removing Older Shutters and Installing Impact Windows
Hurricane Hardening Treatment Facilities
Intake Wall to Block Wind Blown Rain
Salt Water Intrusion/Inland Supply Salt water intrusion will limit water supplies to the coastal communities. Maintain excess water treatment capacity to allow supply of coastal communities with potable water. Salt Water Intrusion will affect Reclaim Water Quality due to Inflow and Infiltration
Salt Water Intrusion
Source: USGS
Excess WTP Capacity
Water Interconnects
Facility Planning Have a plan to address rapid increase in population. – Future Northern Region WTP, site plan approved.
Reducing Infiltration/Inflow Increase in Infiltration/Inflow in to the sewer systems caused by higher GW levels and more intense rainfall. In some areas up to 50 percent of the wastewater flow is caused by infiltration/inflow. As GW levels and storm intensity increase this will worsen.
Infiltration/Inflow Reduction
Gravity Sewer Lining
Manhole Lining
Best Water, Best Service, Best Environmental Stewardship