Events - Future Events View

Approximately 50% of the world’s people live within 3 km of a river, and are vulnerable to streamflow extremes (flood/drought) and inadequate water quality. These two problems are linked (and likely to worsen with climate change); however, the linkages are only poorly understood. Floods mobilize contaminants stored on the floodplain and overwhelm containment and treatment works. Droughts lower water levels, elevating pollutant concentrations, and stagnating flows (decreasing river re-oxygenation). In combination with warming waters, droughts increase the likelihood and severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs). This talk will provide background on the relationship between climate warming and hydrologic variability, and offer anecdotes of linkages with water quality problems, such as Hurricane Harvey in Houston, and repeated, varied, contamination of the Ohio River. The talk will conclude with discussion of what can be done to better characterize our risks, so that strategic investments can be made to reduce them.