Wisconsin's Role in Great Lakes Restoration - American Water ...

SESSION 3B:
Climate Change and Wisconsin's Water Resources
Friday, March 4, 2011
8:20 – 10:00 a.m.
Climate Change and Wisconsin’s Water Resources: Results of WICCI’s First Adaptation
Strategy Report
Tim Asplund, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI,
tim.asplund@wisconsin.gov
Carolyn Rumery Betz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, betzc@aqua.wisc.edu
James Hurley, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, hurley@aqua.wisc.edu
The Wisconsin Initiative Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) released its first climate change
adaptation strategy report in February 2011, Wisconsin’s Changing Climate: Impacts and
Adaptation. The report is a product of a statewide collaborative effort between the University
of Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources, and other agencies and institutions.
Climate scientists analyzed historic temperature and precipitation data to document how the
state’s climate has changed. Water resource experts also looked at long term ice cover, lake
level, groundwater and stream baseflow data. The conclusions are that changes in
Wisconsin’s climate are reflected in changes to our water resources, but the direction and
magnitude of those changes are intimately linked to local and regional hydrologic conditions.
Future projections of temperature and precipitation allowed the Water Resources Working
Group to identify six probable impacts of climate change on our water resources that should
be addressed in an adaptation framework: increased flooding; increased harmful blue-green
algal blooms; increased demand for groundwater extraction and demand for water; changes
in seepage lake levels; increased sediment and nutrient loading; and increased spread of
aquatic invasive species.
At last year’s AWRA meeting, the WICCI Water Resources Working Group sponsored a
special workshop to begin developing adaptation strategies to address these impacts. We
also identified who could implement the strategies, discussed the scale and timing of the
strategies, and articulated potential obstacles. This year we will share these adaptation
strategies and discuss next steps for implementation. We have already funded new research
projects, developed educational materials for schools, and shared information with
professional organizations. We plan on working with lake and watershed groups, local public
health groups and regional and municipal government officials as part of our outreach efforts.
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