MY TURN / STEVE BARNES

A New Climate for Water

Whether you think global warming is a myth or not -- whether fossil fuels do or don’t have an effect on temperature here and worldwide -- our climate is changing, and this is having a major impact on the water resources that we depend on and take for granted.

At a recent Rutgers University symposium, speakers demonstrated that climate change will have an effect on both the amount of water available to us and when it will be available. The talks on climate change and water resources were attended by members of the Highland Park Environmental Commission and the Community Habitat Project team.

As temperatures rise, shorter autumns and earlier springs will diminish the amount of water from snowfall that we depend on to recharge our reservoirs and underground aquifers. Higher temperatures will also increase the amount of water lost to evaporation.

While the annual amount of rain New Jersey receives will increase, longer and more frequent droughts are also likely because rainstorms are expected to be less frequent. When it does rain it’s expected to come as heavy downpours that will end up mostly as surface runoff, adding to existing stormwater management problems and local flooding.

As sea levels continue to rise, saltwater infiltration into underground aquifers will increase, making many of them unusable. De-salting water has often been suggested as an alternative. But that requires significant amounts of energy, which in turn would add to global warming. A 10 to 15 foot rise is sea level rise is projected by 2025; at high tide you may have to take a ferry to get to New Brunswick. And if you have beachfront property, in less than twenty years it may not be there.

Symposium speakers noted that any planning that assumes the environment of the future will be the same as it is today will have serious, far-reaching consequences. Climate change and its resulting effects on water resources will mean that everyone, from individuals and businesses to government at all levels, will need to adapt.

Conserving water supplies and improved management of stormwater are key to adapting to new climate conditions. Taking steps to manage our water resources better now will prevent drastic and costly measures in the future.

You can go to http://climatechange.rutgers.edu/annual_symposium.php to review the presentations made at this symposium. For help with water conservation and stormwater management techniques, families and property owners can contact the Highland Park Environmental Commission at http://www.leoraw.com/hpenv/.