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Climate change impacts and strategies for adaptation for water resource management in Indiana

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Abstract

Changes to water resources are critical to all sectors of the economy. Climate change will affect the timing and quantity of water available in the environment as well as have an adverse effect on the quality of that water. Floods, droughts, and changing patterns of water scarcity—when water is not available in sufficient enough quantities or of a suitable quality at the right time to fulfill demand—are all critical factors when considering how and where Indiana will be able to economically develop in the future. Management of water resources will become even more important as different sectors try to minimize the risk of water scarcity in the face of increasing climate variability. This paper focuses on observed changes to Indiana’s water resources and how the availability and quality of those resources are likely to change in the face of future climate. Generally, Indiana is becoming wetter but with the projected increase coming primarily in the winter and spring. Summer water use will increase the likelihood of water shortages and the need for improved water management. In particular, Indiana may benefit from investment in methods to increase short-term storage of water—retaining more of the overabundance from winter and spring to relieve summer shortages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Keith A. Cherkauer, Indrajeet Chaubey, Natalie Chin, Stephen J. Kines, Garett W. Pignotti & Sanoar Rahman

  2. Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Laura C. Bowling & Charlotte I. Lee

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    Kyuhyun Byun & Alan F. Hamlet

  4. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

    Kyuhyun Byun

  5. College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Indrajeet Chaubey

  6. Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Darren L. Ficklin & Ram Neupane

  7. Texas Water Development Board, Austin, TX, USA

    Ram Neupane

  8. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad, Palakkad, India

    Sarmistha Singh

  9. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA

    Pandara Valappil Femeena

  10. U. S. Geological Survey, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Louisville, KY, USA

    Tanja N. Williamson

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  1. Keith A. Cherkauer
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Correspondence to Keith A. Cherkauer.

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This article is part of a Topical Collection on The Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment

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Cherkauer, K.A., Bowling, L.C., Byun, K. et al. Climate change impacts and strategies for adaptation for water resource management in Indiana. Climatic Change 165, 21 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-02979-4

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