The CCRUN Water Sector investigates how climate change may impact water supplies and quality in the urban Northeast, especially related to the impacts of drought on urban drinking water. The team has evaluated the Boston-NYC-Philadelphia urban corridor served by some of the major water supply utilities in the region. Using tools and models including ensemble hydraulic forecasting, the team is able to quantify improvements in water sector management and provide climate information that builds resilience to droughts and other water-related impacts of climate change.
CCRUN’s water research has been focused on estimating (using hydrological models) the impacts of climate change on water demands in major cities in the Northeast, and as far south as the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. The team has constructed water demand models for Boston, MA and Fairfax County, VA.
Booras, K., A. R. McIntyre, J. Weiss, C. Howells, and R. Palmer. 2018. “Incorporating Streamflow Forecasts with Aggregate Drought Indices for the Management of Water Supply.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 144(1):04017078.
Somos-Valenzuela, M. A., & Palmer, R. N. (2018). Use of WRF-Hydro over the Northeast of the US to Estimate Water Budget Tendencies in Small Watersheds. Water, 10(12), 1709. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10121709
Dr. Richard Palmer
palmer@ecs.umass.edu
GreenRoots
Location: Chelsea, Massachusetts
Website: www.greenrootschelsea.org
Project Title: Mitigating the Impacts of Heat Islands through Community-led, Nature-based Solutions
Project Description: Funding from the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast will help advance community resilience and improve environmental justice areas of concern through the following heat mitigation and air quality improvement strategies: 1. Greater green and open space: GreenRoots is transforming a vacant, urban parcel, 212 Congress Ave, into an urban oasis with trees, plantings, shade structures and hydration stations. Pre- and post- monitoring of the heat index and surveying with neighborhood residents of personal perception of heat will determine the use and benefits of this demonstration project. 2. Resident Engagement: GreenRoots staff will conduct multilingual community outreach to connect residents in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods to cooling solutions (ongoing). Engagement includes: door knocking, flyering, stand-outs in public areas, social media, other online strategies and in-person events in the vacant parcel. 3. Implement Cool Block Strategies: Collaborate with BSLA, BU School of Public Health and City of Chelsea on installation of Cool Block strategies including painting white roofs, temporary art and data visualizations, cooling structures and possible water features at 212 Congress.