Monitoring Water Quality & Supply

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Monitoring water quality and supply is an important aspect of climate change adaptation because the results can be used to inform climate forecasting models. This is essential for developing future climate projections that inform decision making related to water quality management, water supply management, and infrastructure investments.

To best inform climate change projections relevant to water utility operators, monitoring of water quality and supply should be done in relevant watersheds or around water resources believed to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Monitoring of human use in these areas will also provide key information in developing climate change projections. If monitoring is executed properly, water resource managers will be able to adjust operations in response to changes in water quality and supply.

Monitoring Water Quality and Supply in California Establishing long-term monitoring networks are essential for detecting and measuring climate change impacts, especially when these monitoring networks are at a regional or local scale (Brekke et al. 2009). Currently, in California, there are large gaps in the hydrological observational network. Many of these gaps are in areas most vulnerable to climate change. Filling these gaps will allow for better real-time system management and the evaluation of long term planning (California Department of Water Resources 2008).

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