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Managing Adaptation of Urban Water Systems in a Changing Climate

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Abstract

Current evidence is that climate change is occurring, it is largely manmade and it will have significant implications for human civilisation. Australia is particularly vulnerable to the anticipated effects of climate change, creating major challenges for water resource management and water supply security. Climate change adaptation offers a means by which we can reduce our exposure to future climate change risks, whilst at the same time exploiting any potential benefits that may arise from climatic changes. This review outlines the current major climate change adaptation challenges facing the water supply industry at large, with a particular focus on these challenges in an Australian context. It also aims to highlight the critical knowledge gaps and strategies required to assist in the formulation of adaptation responses to the range of potential impacts on water infrastructure and future water security. A diverse range of management and assessment techniques are used by relevant professions in industry. Here, an adaptive management approach is presented highlighting the important information required for robust assessment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Australian Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Settlements and Infrastructure and ARC Discovery Project DP1095722. The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Anna Blacka who patiently prepared Fig. 1 and Caroline Hedges of the Water Reference Library for research consultation and referencing assistance. We appreciate the comments of two anonymous reviewers who assisted us to significantly improve the manuscript’s format and robustness. We acknowledge useful discussions with a number of colleagues within the UNSW Water Research Centre, especially Richard Stuetz, Matthias Schulz, Eytan Rocheta, James Carley and Grantley Smith. W.L. Peirson would like to acknowledge the hospitality of the Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Equilibre, Marseille during the writing of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNSW Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Michael D. Short, William L. Peirson, Gregory M. Peters & Ronald J. Cox

  2. Australian Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Settlements and Infrastructure, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    William L. Peirson & Ronald J. Cox

  3. Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Gregory M. Peters

Authors
  1. Michael D. Short
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  2. William L. Peirson
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  3. Gregory M. Peters
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  4. Ronald J. Cox
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael D. Short.

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Short, M.D., Peirson, W.L., Peters, G.M. et al. Managing Adaptation of Urban Water Systems in a Changing Climate. Water Resour Manage 26, 1953–1981 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-012-0002-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-012-0002-8

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