Water

Climate change will bring hotter, drier summers, and warmer, wetter winters that can bring drought and flooding.

Agricultural and outdoor workers, low-income residents, those with pre-existing conditions, and those living in substandard housing are most at risk.

Given the water sector's vulnerabilities, we have developed the following goals and strategies.
Goals are presented in bold with their corresponding action items below it.

Enhance water storage opportunities and infrastructure to reduce incidence and impact of flooding and low-streamflow events.

Expand storage (natural and human created, e.g. reservoirs, wetlands, beavers, and beaver mimicry).

Preserve water quality through improved stormwater management, prioritizing green infrastructure over traditional methods.

Develop a funding mechanism to support green infrastructure.
Implement low-impact development standards to encourage fewer impervious surfaces.
Improve and expand stormwater facilities via new land use regulations or other mechanisms.

Preserve water quality through efficient wastewater treatment, water delivery systems, education and regulation.

Create community-wide wastewater systems (rather than septic) in developed or developing areas.
Create, fund, and implement a well contamination response plan (identify at-risk wells, potential contaminants, places to restrict new well construction).

Conserve water through water conservation plans, practices, regulations and strategic/guided growth.

Implement Missoula Water's plan to reduce infrastructure water loss (leaks, losses, theft, aging meters).
Take water availability into account in county growth policy and zoning.
Develop educational materials and incentives to increase water use efficiency during drought and flood conditions.
Articulate water use best practices in real time, across user groups (agricultural producers, outfitters), based on drought conditions.
Create community-wide water systems (rather than individual wells) in developed or developing areas.

Balance competing water needs in the context of population growth.

Enhance/incentivize more effective, multi-stakeholder (recreation and agriculture) approach to drought response planning.
Advocate for state water policies that provide innovation and flexibility in encouraging water conservation and resiliency.

Do you prefer to think about strategies in terms of which climate impacts they respond to?

You can sort all water strategies by related climate impacts below, as well as whether they have a mitigation benefit or strengthen resiliency in a different sector as well as water.

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full list of vulnerabilities addressed