Vulnerability Assessment - Take Two
Aired: September 20, 2012, 1:00pm PT/2:00pm MT
Presenters: Dr. Amy Snover - Co-Director, The Climate Impacts Group, Universtiy of Washington
Charlie Ester - Manager of Water Resource Operations, Salt River Project
Dr. Holly Hartmann - Director, Arid Lands Information Center, University of Arizona/CLIMAS
Dr. Kiyomi Morino - Research Associate, University of Arizona 

Description
In the Academy’s fourth webinar, held March 21st, we looked at the main objectives of vulnerability assessment: 1) to identify who, or what, has the most exposure to climate change; 2) to determine the range of tolerance for these entities; and 3) to characterize the ability of the system, including social and institutional factors, to accommodate climate change.

Join us as we move this discussion beyond assessment of the general risk of reduced water supply due to climate change to assessment of localized threats to water system infrastructure, such as increases in the number of catastrophic wildfires.

Dr. Snover’s work at the Climate Impacts Group focuses on cross-sectoral, integrated assessment of climate impacts at the regional scale, assessing climate-related vulnerabilities, and planning for climate change. She is co-author of The Climate Impacts Group’s adaptation guidebook, Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional, and State Governments.

Mr. Ester will report on Salt River Project’s recent vulnerability assessment, providing us with a utility prospective on how SRP is connecting the assessment to the adaptability of infrastructure within its water storage, treatment and distribution systems in Central Arizona.