By Mike Ekberg,Manager for Water Resources Monitoring and Analysis
In my August 1, blogpost, "Climate Change: Is It Real?" we noted that our climate is always changing. Some people want to debate the cause, but that’s not nearly as important as planning for the changes that are expected. A warming trend will amplify the extremes in our region’s climate, according to the Third National Climate Assessment. We can expect more intense summer heat waves, more droughts, and more floods.
More rain when we don’t need it and less rain when we do
The Third National Climate Assessment says here’s what we can expect over the next 35 years:
The Miami Valley will need to cope with intense winter and spring rain events when human water demand is low. Likewise, we’ll need to cope with hotter – and sometimes drier – summers when human water demand is high.
Making changes now key to coping in the future
How can our region successfully cope with these challenges? Planning and wise infrastructure investment is the key. Here are some steps communities in our region can take to prepare for a warmer future.
The time to act is now
Taking steps now is the key to preparing for a changing world. Our region is fortunate to have sufficient water resources and should be able to weather the forecasted changes if we manage those resources well. If we don’t prepare now, we’ll be playing catch up later, and that could prove to be costly.