In an effort to support improved climate change analysis in local and regional water resource planning and management, DWR has developed several resources for use by local and regional planning and management authorities.

While DWR provides statewide management of water resources in California, local and regional authorities control many important aspects of water resource management. DWR has identified Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) as one of the key initiatives for improving water supply reliability. And DWR manages several grant programs to promote and improve local and regional water resource management. Incorporating climate change analysis and adaptation planning is an increasingly important aspect of local and regional water resource management. Climate change is a global phenomenon but the impacts of climate change will differ regionally and the strategies for addressing the impacts of climate change will vary by location. Local and regional water resource managers are encouraged to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from their activities and to assess the likely impacts of climate change on their resources and develop strategies for adapting to these changes.

The resources published here are by no means exhaustive; these resources represent products developed by DWR or in which DWR staff contributed to development.

Technical Resources

• Climate Change Handbook for Regional Water Planning - November 2011

Jointly developed by Department of Water Resources (DWR), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Resources Legacy Fund this handbook will provide a framework for integrating climate change analysis into regional water management planning as well as several case studies highlighting successful analyses performed by large and small water management agencies throughout the western United States.

• "Climate Change Characterization and Analysis in California Water Resources Planning Studies". California Department of Water Resources. December 2010.

A comprehensive and comparative look at planning studies conducted by DWR and its partner agencies that have addressed climate change. Thirteen planning studies completed since 2006 or in the process of being completed are reviewed and summarized.

• Coastal and Oceans Climate Action Team (CO-CAT) Sea Level Rise Task Force Final Interim Sea Level Rise Guidance Document.

Guidance for incorporating sea?level rise projections into planning and decision making for projects in California.

• Summary of Key-References for CO-CAT Sea Level Rise Task Force -- Technical Appendix

Annotated list of key references used by the Coastal and Oceans Climate Action Team to develop the Interim Sea Level Rise Guidance.

• California's Climate Adaptation Water Strategy: An Analysis of Implications for Individual and Community Rights and Responsibilities

The consequences of climate change will put some of California's people and communities at more risk than others. Because of location and a limited capacity to adapt, vulnerable populations may face profound and disproportionate harm. This analysis asks how California can create a policy environment for equitable adaptation processes and outcomes.

General Information Resources

• IRWM Climate Change Document Clearinghouse

DWR staff developed this clearinghouse in June 2010 to assist IRWM planning organizations with incorporating climate change information into IRWM plans. While the reports highlighted in the clearinghouse may still be among the best climate change references, the clearinghouse has not been updated since its issue date and therefore may not contain the most up to date information.

• DWR Land Use and Climate Change Activities Summary

A summary of DWR programs that have a water management/land-use/climate change nexus and may provide opportunities for coordination and collaboration with other agencies and efforts.

• Climate Change Vulnerability Matrix

Drawn from the California Adaptation Strategy and several other sources, this matrix provides a summary of the likely impacts of climate change on the seven most important resource sectors.

• Accounting for Climate Change (in CWP 2009)

DWR Chief Hydrologist (retired) Maury Roos provided this California Climate Change impacts paper as part of the California Water Plan, 2009. It includes specific trends and impacts to the water resources of the State.

• Climate Action for Health: Integrating Public Health into Climate Action Planning (California Department of Public Health)

This document primarily addresses GHG emissions reduction efforts that have health co-benefits, this information may be useful in climate adaptation planning and broader sustainability planning.

Resources for DWR Grant Programs

• "Climate Change and Integrated Regional Water Management in California: A Preliminary Assessment of Regional Approaches," June, 2012

Written by Esther Conrad, Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, this report examines the initial steps that IRWM (Integrated Regional Water Management) regions are taking in response to new requirements to address climate change vulnerabilities and consider greenhouse gas emissions in IRWM plans in California. Specifically, this report seeks to assess the manner and degree to which the climate change requirements in the 2010 IRWM Guidelines are met in Round1 Proposition 84 Planning and Implementation grant proposals, and in recently approved IRWM plans, assess current IRWM regional approaches to analyzing and adapting climate change risks in light of the overall goal to promote an adaptive management approach, and provide recommendations on key steps for DWR IRWM regions to support the development of informative climate change analyses and mechanisms for adaptive management at regional and state levels.

• Climate Change Handbook for Regional Water Management - November 2011

Jointly developed by Department of Water Resources (DWR), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Resources Legacy Fund this handbook will provide a framework for integrating climate change analysis into regional water management planning as well as several case studies highlighting successful analyses performed by large and small water management agencies throughout the western United States.

• CEQA Greenhouse Gas Analysis Guidance for DWR Grantees

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) now requires analysis of the climate change causing greenhouse gases emitted by projects. Projects funded through DWR grant programs must meet the requirements of these new guidelines so that DWR can reach findings on these impacts. Because this is a relatively new field of analysis, DWR, as the responsible agency on grant funded projects, has developed guidance for complying with the new CEQA guidelines.

• CEQA Information for Grantees: Process, Greenhouse Gas Analysis, and Climate Change

Information about key CEQA questions related to grant funded projects.

• IRWM Planning Grant Climate Change FAQs

Quick answers to frequently asked questions about the Climate Change standard included in the 2010 IRWM Planning Grant Guidelines.

Other Water Resource Planning Tools and Information

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