Adapting urban water systems to climate change
ICLEI, UNESCO-IHE and IWA have authored, as part of the ‘SWITCH – Managing Water for the City of the Future’ project, a handbook on adapting urban water systems to climate change. The handbook aims to fill a gap in the adaptation field: while a lot of information is available about various adaptation topics, there is a lack of guidance for decision makers at the local level working on urban water who wish to proactively prepare for and adapt to climate change.
The handbook first examines some of the key areas of vulnerability to climate change within urban water systems.
Urban water systems can be affected by most of the predicted climatic changes; for example, droughts can affect water supply directly and indirectly (when vegetation regrowth after wildfires reduces catchment yields), higher temperatures can lead to the deterioration of wastewater pipes and increased heavy rainfall can cause combined sewer overflows.
The handbook also proposes flexible and future-oriented urban water planning as a means to address climate change and implement adaptation actions. This can be achieved through strategic planning, which is a continuous, regularly evaluated process with ongoing choices designed to cope with changing circumstances. Adaptation-specific steps such as a vulnerability assessment can easily be fitted into such a process. Finally, the handbook presents case studies of cities throughout the world that have already planned for adaptation or implemented specific actions aiming at increasing their resilience to climate change.
It is envisaged that the handbook will be updated yearly to reflect new developments. If you have
suggestions relating to its content, comments, or wish to receive a hard copy of the handbook, please contact water@iclei.org
Download the handbook
here.
Contents
1. Vulnerability of urban water systems in the face of climate change
1.1 Climate change: a summary
1.2 Sensitivity within urban water systems
1.3 Social and institutional dimensions of climate change
2. A strategic planning framework for adaptation
2.1. Addressing climate change vulnerability through integration
2.2 Strengthening the planning process
2.3. Communicating climate change adaptation
3. Adapting the urban water system: city examples
Case studies of cities adapting to climate change
Durban, South Africa
Mainstreaming adaptation through a cooperative process
Hanoi, Vietnam
Integrated river basin management for climate resilience
Infanta and General Nakar, The Philippines
Community-based early warning system
Lima, Peru
Wastewater reuse for irrigation in the urban context
London, United Kingdom
Melbourne, Australia
New York City, United States of America
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Using adaptation to create a more attractive city
Semarang, Indonesia
Water level control in the Semarang test polder
Toronto, Canada
Is your city/organisation adapting to climate change? Write your own case study and have it featured on this website and in future editions of the adaptation handbook.
