Water utilities eye change in climate
By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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Denver Water and seven of the nation's largest water utilities are joining forces to help battle climate change and protect water supplies.
"Historically, water utilities operated on a strictly local basis," said Denver Water Manager Chips Barry. "But this change is going to affect everybody."
The group first began meeting more than a year ago but now has organized formally to try to better guide federal research efforts on climate change and water supplies, among other things.
"There is a fair amount of federal money that goes into climate-related research," Barry said. "We would like to direct that money so that it is more relevant and effective. There are about 20 worldwide climate models, but none of them operate on a scale small enough to tell you what is going to happen in a region."
That kind of information is critical to planning for future water supplies. Researchers increasingly believe, for instance, that areas such as the Colorado River Basin will likely see more rain and less snow as well as warmer temperatures.
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February 27, 2008
6:28 a.m.
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jackson_foi writes:
Denver Water BATTLING Climate Change"?
Denver Water should stick to its charter of providing clean water for its customers, which would require having plans for all combinations of snow and rain, more and less.
My guess is that they would be spending relatively more time trying to figure a way to keep this years bounty IN Colorado.