International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
Volume 222, Issue 5, June 2019, Pages 744-755
IWA Search Format: Case Stories
Managing climate risks: The tale of two water utilities (webinar on demand)
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• Learn about best practices utilities are applying to build resilience to climate change hazards and risks.
• Apply a process to identify resilience strategies.
• Draw from the experiences presented to assist the development of plans to respond to their climate hazards and risks
From vision to action: how water utilities are building climate resilience (North America) (webinar on demand)
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• Learn about best practices utilities are applying to build resilience to climate change hazards and risks.
• Apply a process to identify resilience strategies,
• Draw from the experiences presented to assist the development of plans to respond to their climate hazards and risks.
Skanderborg Forsyning – Nature-Based Solutions Utility Spotlight
In recent years, the municipality of Skanderborg, located in Eastern Denmark, has experienced increasing and more frequent rainfall resulting in extensive flooding of urban areas. Rainwater accumulation can lead to sewerage overflow and surface water quality degradation, impacts that will be exacerbated by the onset of climate change.
Skanderborg Forsyning has faced public criticism for the poor water quality in lakes, providing an incentive for greater community engagement and targeted efforts to unlock the full value of water. Consequently, the Municipality has developed a climate change action plan to identify vulnerable areas and address flooding.
Climate Change and Health in Ethiopia – Lesson learned
Building adaptation to climate change in health in least developed countries through resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project
Houston Strong: Building resilience to climate change
A case study from Huston Water
From conservation to climate change: planning for an uncertain future
A case study from Austin Water
Case Study: Aguas de Cartagena, Colombia – An Example of a Water Utility Transformation to a Low Carbon Low Energy Future
In Colombia, with the new SDG agenda, utilities are starting to understand the importance to become more efficient in their operation, not only because of the costs, but also due to the impact that their systems have in the environment. The example of Aguas de Cartagena showcased the effort of a water utility to increase its efficiency, with the optimization of the pumping system it was possible to reduce the energy consumption (and energy costs) in the water supply system, and consequently a reduce the GHG emissions.
Case Study – Peru
Planning locally, impacting globally – How Water and Wastewater Utilities in Peru are Facing Climate Change
How to ensure water and sanitation services delivery under a climate change context? The climate change mitigation and adaptation plans (PMACC; Planes de Mitigación y Adaptación al Cambio Climático) are tools to address this challenge. PMACC identify main carbon emissions sources and higher climate risks throughout the urban water cycle, along with water utilities’ opportunities to boost a positive change towards climate neutrality and adaptation. Following a standardised methodology and supported by web-based tools, the planning process becomes quicker and generates a report to informing decision-makers. This planning approach enabled some water utilities in Peru to start searching for practical carbon emissions reduction solutions, such as water utilities in Cusco and Ayacucho. The PMACC initiative was developed and implemented collaboratively between WaCCliM (responsible for mitigation) and PROAGUA II.
How Guanajuato’s Water and Wastewater Utilities are tackling Climate Change through Efficiency Optimization and Renewable Energy Production
In San Francisco del Rincón, two utility companies, SITRATA (Servicio de Tratamiento
y Deposición de Aguas Residuales) and SAPAF (Sistema de Agua Potable y
Alcantarillado de San Francisco), are collaborating on projects to improve their
services and lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. SITRATA manages
wastewater, while SAPAF is responsible for drinking water and sewage. With
guidance from the WaCCliM project, both utilities have undertaken a strategizing and
implementation process similar to that proposed in the “WaCCliM Roadmap to a Low-
Carbon Urban Water Utility”.
As a result, SAPAF have increased wastewater treatment coverage from 48% to 81%
and improved the energy efficiency of their pumping stations. The magnitude of the
increase in treatment coverage was by far the biggest achievement in GHG reduction.