Coho Water Resources
Integrated Water Resource Management
Climate Impacts
Climate change is putting more pressure on Pacific Northwest water resources (see more details here):
- Winter rainfall is replacing snowfall in upper elevations, decreasing the storage of water in snowpacks.
- Winter storms are increasing in intensity, leading to more runoff and less recharge.
- Hotter and drier summers are increasing the summertime water demand by both agriculture and people.Less snow, more erratic weather.
Water suppliers, water users, and natural resource managers can likewise anticipate increasing pressures on their systems, not just the continuation of the "average" conditions of the past.
Coho provides support to:
- Assess impacts of climate change on specific water supplies and natural systems
- Prepare for and adapt to expected impacts
Coho provides context and understanding of climate change to inform water resource management, public policy discussions such as the setting of instream flows, regulations in development, and establishing levels of sustainable development.
