Climate Change Risk Assessment Technical Assistance for Water Sector Utilities
Call for Utilities
CRWU has opened a “Call for Utilities,” encouraging those interested in no-cost climate change risk assessment technical assistance to apply by August 15th, 2024, by emailing Aliza Furneaux (Furneaux.aliza@epa.gov).
Selected utilities will be notified in early September 2024. Scheduling of the technical assistance assessment will begin in late September or early October of 2024. EPA will assign selected utilities a start-date of either October 2024, or January, April or July 2025.
Through EPA’s CRWU initiative, drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (water sector) utility owners and operators will receive one-on-one, no-cost climate change risk assessment support using CRWU’s tools and resources, including our Resilient Strategies Guide, Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool and Climate and Weather Data Maps.
Over the course of two to four months, water sector utilities will be guided through a risk assessment process to:
- Better understand their potential risk to climate change threats;
- Identify potential adaptive measures to become more resilient to those threats; and
- Identify potential funding sources for implementation of those potential adaptive measures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does CRWU assess climate change risk?
- The technical assistance process comprises a team of experts who utilize online CRWU tools, including the Resilient Strategies Guide and Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool, to assist utility stakeholders with adaptation planning and monetized risk assessment. CRWU’s suite of Climate and Weather Data Maps, may also be referenced as necessary.
What is required from utilities?
- Utilities are typically asked to provide a lead contact that spends a maximum of 35 to 40 hours participating in webinars and coordinating the scheduling of working sessions. Additional staff and utility experts, such as hydrology modelers, engineers, and treatment plant managers, may spend 5 to 15 hours collecting data and providing feedback on meeting notes, as well as their final report and case study. The entire technical assistance process takes, on average, two to four months, depending on the frequency of meetings and availability of utility staff and local partners.
Who can participate in the process?
- The process is open to utilities and any partners the staff deems helpful to the assessment. EPA’s CRWU team and contractor support team will coordinate and facilitate meetings, as well as provide subject matter expertise, such as engineering and climate change support. To support any broader utility goals for the assessment, additional contacts may be invited to participate or observe, such as EPA regional staff, national or regional environmental finance centers, and federal and state funding program contacts.
What are the outcomes of the process?
- At the conclusion of the assessment, the utility will receive a final report detailing the findings of the risk assessment conducted for its use. EPA asks partners to share their story through a one-to-two-page case-study for the Adaptation Case Studies Map. The community receiving support maintains the final edits to the report and case-study. Any potential concerns can be discussed once selected.
Are there any case study examples from other utilities?
- To see what other utilities have already completed a climate change risk assessment with CRWU, visit our Adaptation Case Studies Map.