Climate Resilience
Committee Goal: Utilities plan for climate change impacts and implement solutions that allow for continued operation during extreme weather events and reliability far into the future. Municipal and county governments employ various solutions to build resilience before, during, and after flood events to protect infrastructure, public health, and livelihoods.
See Jersey Water Works latest news on climate resilience.
Committee initiatives and work include:
We will not be convening the climate resilient committee in 2025. This committee will sunset, and work on climate resilience will be integrated into other committees.
- Curate information about resources and promising practices to promote via JWW newsletters, website, and committee meetings. This will include promoting the EPA’s Creating Resilient Water Utilities Tool (CRWU) and regular “show and tell” committee agenda items.
- Review and develop comments on the Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) portion of the New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threat (NJ PACT) rules.
- Create or find a visual roadmap showing the continuum of least to most climate-resilient water utilities. Utilize that information to host a session for local government decision-makers focused on building climate resilience, linking to operational and capital needs, and showing a path toward funding for implementation. Potential avenues for the session include the JWW Membership Meeting or Annual Conference, the League of Municipalities Conference, the ANJEC Environmental Congress, and/or RPA’s annual conference.
- Explore the interest for existing programs (like GI champions, Green Teams, and Environmental Commissioners) to create climate resilience champions. Create guidance to establish climate resilience champions.
- Build a visual roadmap showing the continuum of least to most resilient water utilities regarding flooding. Conduct utility interviews to inform the product.
- Collaborate with the Green Infrastructure Committee to host a session for local government decision-makers focused on building climate resilience, utilizing the roadmap item, linking to operational and capital needs, and showing a path towards funding for implementation.
- Gather input across the collaborative, especially from water utilities, on the Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) portion of the NJ PACT rules once they are released and submit recommendations during the public comment period.
- Host an information session for utility staff and local government decision-makers that will include case studies featuring the successful use of federal or state funds on climate resilience projects.
- Create a proposal for a visual roadmap showing the continuum from least to most resilient water utilities, as well as on-ramps for each phase, and explore opportunities for funding to build it out.
- Gather input across the collaborative, especially from water utilities, on the NJ PACT rules after they are released and submit recommendations during the public comment period.
- Promoted the EPA’s Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) and Roadmap to a Secure and Resilient Water and Wastewater Sector in various ways, including a meeting with CRWU EPA staff.
- Submitted comments on the Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) portion of the New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threat (NJ PACT) rules with the GI committee.
- Submitted comments on NJDEP Strategic Climate Action Plan with the GI committee.
- Advanced on developing a roadmap for drinking water and wastewater utilities that have yet to or are just beginning to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.
- Promoted climate resilience funding availability via emails, meetings, and newsletters.
- Convened members to determine the scope, short- and long-term goals, and work plan items in this new committee.
- Prepared a rough outline for a resilient utility roadmap resource that will include flooding resilience and be shared with public drinking water and wastewater utilities.
- Organized a JWW Conference session focused on how New Jersey has developed a process to identify climate impacts; how municipalities can best advocate for their most vulnerable residents; and how the state, municipalities, and utilities can work together to maximize federal funding support to resiliency assessments and implement projects.
- Reviewed the draft Inland Flood Protection rule as part of the New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJ PACT) rules and submitted comments to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
10 Results Found
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02/02/23Jersey Water Works Comments on NJDEP’s Proposed Inland Flood Protection Rule
The Jersey Water Works Climate Resilience Committee and Green Infrastructure Committee submitted comments to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Proposed Inland Flood Protection Rule on February 2, 2023.LEARN MORE#Climate Resilience,#Green Infrastructure/Stormwater ManagementPRODUCT OF
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12/01/22Ask Card – Combined Sewer Overflow and Climate Change
The Jersey Water Works (JWW) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Committee has been reviewing the CSO Long Term Control Plans for NJ sewer agencies, commenting publicly that the LTCPs provided limited guidance on how CSO utilities expect to handle climate change. The Climate Change Subcommittee created this Ask Card to educate stakeholders to ensure the CSO permits incorporate current climate change data.LEARN MORE#Climate Resilience,#Smart CSO Control PlansPRODUCT OF
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11/30/22Executive Summary – Planning for Our Future: Effects of Climate Change on CSOs
The Jersey Water Works (JWW) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Committee recognizes that CSO permittees, communities, and stakeholders know that climate change can harm our sewer infrastructure, but may struggle with how to plan for climate resiliency. Recently, major events like Hurricanes Henri and Ida have raised awareness and increased visibility of our current sewer infrastructure capacity. New Jerseyans have felt and seen how many parts of our ...LEARN MORE#Climate Resilience,#Smart CSO Control PlansPRODUCT OF
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02/08/22Planning for Our Future: Effects of Climate Change on CSOs
The Jersey Water Works (JWW) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Committee recognizes that CSO permittees, communities, and stakeholders know that climate change can harm our sewer infrastructure but may struggle with how to plan for it. Major weather events like Hurricane Henri and Tropical Storm Ida have raised awareness that many parts of our current sewer infrastructure cannot handle increasingly severe storms. New Jersey’s CSO communities have ...LEARN MORE#Climate Resilience,#Smart CSO Control PlansPRODUCT OF
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08/31/16Climate Change Adaptation in the Water Supply Sector
This white paper provides an overview of anticipated climate change implications for water supply, and provides a range of possible management responses including planning and physical mitigation projects. Authored by Jersey Water Works Steering Committee member Daniel J. Van Abs.LEARN MORE#Climate Resilience,#Drinking WaterPRODUCT OF
Co-Chairs
Russ Dudley
Patricia Lindsay Harvey*
*Member of the Jersey Water Works Steering Committee
Backbone Staff
Zeke Weston