Welcome to the Carpe Diem West Academy Discussion Forum. This feature allows Academy users to share information, thoughts, questions and suggestions with each other creating virtual conversations between water manager on water-climate issues in the American West. We hope this feature facilitates the richessness of peer-to-peer learning and interaction and creates a venue to build relationships and connections.
Information Tools
The Statewide Analysis Network (SWAN) is an effort coordinated by the California Department of Water Resources to facilitate the collaborative use of data, information and analytical tools for integrated water management. Current (5.11) activities include efforts to generate future climate change scenarios for the 2013 California Water Plan.
This site contains legislation related to the California Water Plan.
The California Water Plan provides a framework for water managers, legislators, and the public to consider options and make decisions regarding California’s water future. The Plan, which is updated every five years, presents basic data and information on California’s water resources including water supply evaluations and assessments of agricultural, urban, and environmental water uses to quantify the gap between water supplies and uses. The Plan also identifies and evaluates existing and proposed statewide demand management and water supply augmentation programs and projects to address the State’s water needs.
This chapter assesses the capacity of the global climate models used elsewhere in this report for projecting future climate change. Confidence in model estimates of future climate evolution has been enhanced via a range of advances since the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR).
This report describes climate models referenced in the 4th Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and their ability to simulate climate.
The Background Science Section has basic information about climate science, climate modeling, and regional climate modeling.
The analysis provides a national-scale evaluation of the results of changing water demand and supply, and helps identify regions that are most susceptible to climate change.
This document is the user guide to the Army Corp's MCDA module. The Corps currently uses a decision model, IWR-Plan, a tool developed by the US Army Institute for Water Resources. IWR-Plan is limited in its capacity to compare plans effectively because it can only evaluate one type of benefit to produce the incremental cost analysis. An additional module to the IWR-Plan suite includes Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) Module and was developed to provide Corps planners with a toolbox for conducting multi criteria decision analysis and exploring multiple dimensions of a planning decision. NOTE: users must register to download software.
Regional climate change projections presented here are assessed drawing on information from four potential sources: AOGCM simulations; downscaling of AOGCM-simulated data using techniques to enhance regional detail; physical understanding of the processes governing regional responses; and recent historical climate change.
List of adaptation options for water managers.
This guidance discusses key issues that should be considered when making the transition from awareness to action. It is aimed at anyone undertaking a climate change risk based assessment as part of an adaptation work program and emphasises the importance of the scoping phase.
These are the proceedings for a National Climate Assessment (NCA) workshop with over 60 experts on vulnerability assessments. The goal of the workshop was to formulate a strategy for incorporating vulnerability assessments into the upcoming NCA report. In doing so, the current state of vulnerability assessments was evaluated. This report contains this information, including the strengths, weaknesses and challenges for improving vulnerability assessments.
This resource describes 27+ resource management strategies that can help meet various (California) Water Plan objectives. Regional managers can mix and match strategies into response packages, crafting them to provide multiple water and resource benefits, diversify their water portfolio, and become more regionally self-sufficient.
This reports summarizes the observed and projected effects of climate on the hydrological cycle and forested watersheds. It also outline adaptive response to change the would help to ensure healthy, resilient watersheds.
Information tools include reports and websites that cover climate change topics in a general manner. Consider these tools to bolster your background knowledge.
Your Guide. Your Water. Your Decision.
"Our customizable guide can help you move local policymakers from awareness to action." This tool was created by Source Water Collaborative, an organization comprised of federal, state and local partners. The fact sheet, or guide, is designed to effectively deliver a lot of information in a small space. It takes only a couple of minutes to create once you have all your content lined up.
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