Recommendations For Climate Adaptation To Preserve Connecticut Drinking Water Quality And Quantity

Climate change impacts drinking water both directly and indirectly. Increases in temperature, drought frequency, and precipitation are among the climate impacts which currently and are projected to affect water quality and quantity in the continental United States. These impacts limit access to clean and abundant water sources by damaging habitat, spreading toxic substances via runoff and favoring the growth of harmful algal blooms. States can learn from one another to adopt best practices and policies to increase water resilience around the country. This paper explores how Connecticut can employ strategies from the States of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington to strengthen their water resilience measures. Specific recommendations include (1) increasing groundwater and streamflow monitoring and strengthen metering requirements for all water permittees; (2) opportunities for funding resilience projects must be based upon a justice framework and should incorporate both a vulnerability assessment and educational materials on the impacts of climate change community health; (3) Water quality management should emphasize citizen and stakeholder participation to impose nutrient controls to prevent HABs at a subbasin scale; (4) Uprooting Combined Sewer Systems and prioritize funding for green infrastructure and stormwater infrastructure; (5) Continue research on emerging contaminant sources and transmission pathways in relation to climate change. Look ahead to EPA’s Proposed Regulations and future PFAS regulatory considerations