Author(s)

MANUEL RODRIGUEZ, IANIS DELPLA

Abstract

Planning and management of sustainable cities must consider the impacts of climate changes on urban water resources. There is a growing concern about how climate changes affect the quality of drinking water from the catchment to the citizen’s tap. Changes in precipitation and temperature patterns can have effects on quality of water sources and on the capacity of water treatment and distribution infrastructure to respond with such changes. We present herein a research program that investigates the potential impacts of climate change scenarios on source and drinking water quality. The research methodology is based on a modelling framework that exploit datasets from Canadian cities concerning land use, source and tap water quality, water infrastructure and operations, and estimations on future changes on water temperature and local rainfall. The paper concludes with the initiatives that municipalities must conduct in order to implement sustainable strategies for adapting to climate changes regarding drinking water resources.

Keywords

drinking water, cities, climate change, impacts, adaptation