The project is co-funded from the European Commission (Grant Agreement reference 690462) 
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Fresh water is a vital resource for human life – not just for drinking, but also for agriculture, washing and many other activities. Water is among the key natural resources that is going to suffer from the impact of climate change. How does the actors in the water sector improve the efficiency of water treatment and supply facilities particularly during extreme weather events, such as droughts or floods?
The first Valencia E-Zine introduced the bio-physical characteristics of the Valencia region in Spain, as well as the main challenges for the water management and supply to the city of Valencia under climate change. This E-Zine describes the main findings and lessons learned from a workshop convened by the Universitat Poli-tècnica de València (UPV), the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) and Global Omnium. In October 2019, experts from all over the world reunited in Valencia to exchange knowledge in the context of the international workshop “Challenges and solutions for urban water supply in a changing climate and world”. The workshop gathered more than 80 participants and speakers from both a science and business back-ground.
Urban water suppliers all over the world must adapt to the increasing weather variability and frequency of extreme events. The interaction between experts from the water utility companies, researchers and the authorities responsible of urban water supply, is key to ensure the adequate adaptation to the new climate scenario. The INNOVA international workshop aimed to promote the interaction between all these parts and gathered more than 80 participants from a scientific and business background. The international examples described technical innovations, experiences learned from extreme weather events and projects that are focused on improving the water security for cities. More information and all presentations from the workshop can be found
Knowing how climate change is going to affect us, is an essential element to design mitigation and adaptation strategies. Climate change impact on the continued supply of quality potable water is diverse and different depending on the geographic context and region of the world. Climate change is not only going to affect the amount of water available, but it also will have an impact on the water quality. One of the primary concerns are the rise of microorganism growth rates in water supply systems caused by higher average temperatures. Changes in the abundance and the taxonomic composition of microorganisms can affect drinking water quality.
Extreme events can compromise the capacity of authorities to guarantee water supply to their inhabitants. Droughts and floods have forced many governments and local authorities to develop strategies quickly to mitigate their effects.
Climate services are an essential tool for the adaptation of public services and business to climate and global change. There are significant opportunities for developing climate services in the water sector, dedicated to key activities such as water supply. The water sector is going to experience challenges due to the increasing frequency of extreme events, such as droughts and floods. The expected impact is greater in the Mediterranean region, where climate extremes are already more frequent. The adaptation of water supply systems to the future climate scenarios requires a multi-disciplinary approach due to the spread factor of the climate impacts. Diversifying the water sources, paying attention to the issue of water quality under different climate conditions and introducing innovation for the reuse of water, dealing with flash floods in cities and increasing the efficiency of the distribution networks, are some of the key points identified during the workshop for the adaptation of the sector into the future.
Edited for the Ezine format by
Fokke de Jong & Wim Timmermans (Wageningen Environmental Research), Louis Celliers (GERICS)
June 2020