Impacts of climate change on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water supply system

An on-going study of the water supply system of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) includes the watershed area for the City of Boston. Activities involved in this study include the creation of downscaled data from climate model projections, and hydrological model studies to explore the range of the potential impacts of climate change on the watershed. The streamflow projections produced by the hydrology model will then be input into a water supply system simulation model to help inform decision management for possible climate change scenarios. The ABCD hydrology model incorporated into the water supply system simulation model will also be validated separately against historic data to improve confidence in the overall results. This project also involves the development of decision support tools to guide water supply operations and to facilitate stakeholder involvement.

Investigators: Richard Palmer, Casey Brown, Jessica Pica