Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T02:07:41.342Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Regional assessment of the impact of climate change on the yield of water supply systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2010

Janos J. Bogardi
Affiliation:
Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO, Paris
Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz
Affiliation:
Research Centre of Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences
Get access

Summary

ABSTRACT

Investigations of the impact of climate change on water resources systems usually involve detailed monthly hydrological, climatological, and reservoir systems models for a particular system. The conclusions derived from such studies only apply to the particular system under investigation. This study explores the potential for developing a regional hydroclimatological assessment model useful for determining the impact of changes in climate on the behavior of water supply systems over a broad geographic region. Computer experiments performed across the United States reveal that an annual streamflow model is adequate for regional assessments which seek to approximate the behavior of water supply systems. Using those results, a general methodology is introduced for evaluating the sensitivity of water supply systems to climate change in the northeastern United States. The methodology involves the development of a regional hydroclimatological model of annual streamflow which relates the first two moments of average annual streamflow to climate and drainage area at 166 gaging stations in the northeastern United States. The regional hydroclimatological streamflow model is then combined with analytic relationships among water supply system storage, reliability, resilience, and yield. The sensitivity of various water supply system performance indices such as yield, reliability, and resilience are derived as a function of climatical, hydrological, and storage conditions. These results allow us to approximate, in general, the sensitivity of water supply system behavior to changes in the climatological regime as well as to changes in the operation of water supply systems.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×