The climate change adaptation challenges facing wastewater and stormwater agencies include increased flooding risk to assets and facilities; increased risk of impaired coastal outfall operations; alterations in the quality of receiving waters; challenges to the integrity and operation of collection and conveyance systems; and challenges to wastewater treatment, biosolids, and reuse operations.

In many cases, utility managers will need to develop plans to manage an increase in stormwater runoff. Climate change will alter precipitation frequency and intensity, resulting in increases in flooding and adverse infrastructure impacts. Excess runoff and flooding may necessitate an increase in the use of both “green” infrastructure, such as rain collection barrels, and “gray” infrastructure, such as increases in the size of sewer pipes. Water utilities should also seek to take advantage of natural flood plain processes to control flooding. Additionally, water utilities will experience higher costs to reduce infiltration and inflow in stormwater drains. Increases in stormwater runoff will also affect water quality by increasing polluted runoff to surface water, thus forcing water utility managers to implement changes in water quality management techniques.