How-to Strategies: Projecting the Impact of Climate Change

Featured article in Water Canada Magazine August 2011

Canada’s water resources scientists and engineers generally agree that climate change will have an impact on our water; however, we have not incorporated climate change assessments into many of our water management efforts. Will the water levels in the Great Lakes decline? Will the rivers of the Prairies overflow their banks more often and will they sustain our needs in the summer? How long will the glaciers of the Rockies continue to support icy rivers? While the state of climate change science and modelling technology has not advanced sufficiently to make singular and reliable predictions, it is practical and prudent for our industry to use available resources and tools to evaluate the expected range of climate change impacts.