Success Stories and Case Studies
Climate success stories are helpful for general educational purposes and for use by states, Tribes, local governments, and stakeholders to take climate adaptation action. Additional examples may be added.
Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU)
The EPA's Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative is aimed at preparing the water sector, including drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities, for climate change impacts. Extreme weather events, sea level rise, shifting precipitation patterns, and temperature variability, all intensified by climate change, have significant impacts for such utilities. Through the development of easy-to-use tools (including CREAT), this program promotes a clear understanding of how utilities can become more resilient.
Watch how several community drinking water and wastewater utilities are responding to extreme events and planning for their resilient futures:
- Fredricktown, Missouri
- Camden, New Jersey
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
- Faribault, Minnesota
Case Studies that Demonstrate the Benefits of Water Reuse
This webpage contains a series of case studies that highlight the different water reuse approaches communities have taken to meet their water quality and water quantity needs. Each case study contains information about the technical, financial, institutional, and policy aspects of these water reuse systems and the communities they are located in. These examples can provide a useful framework for other communities as they look for reliable adaptations to the impacts of climate change.
National Estuary Program (NEP) Success Stories
Estuaries face unique impacts from climate change. As sea-levels rise, increased erosion and inundation threaten many coastal wetlands and estuarine habitats. As temperatures rise due to climate change, so do stresses to habitats and fish and wildlife populations. Climate change will lead to more severe storms, which means increased polluted runoff. This runoff can further degrade water quality in estuarine waters.
FedFUNDS Map of Success Stories
This page includes a map of success stories in getting federal funding for water and wastewater utilities in national disasters from EPA, FEMA, and HUD.
State Water Agency Practices for Climate Adaptation
This webpage features a compilation of practices that highlight some of the innovative actions or planning efforts by various state water management agencies that help address a changing climate. Showcasing a diverse array of climate adaptation related practices in several programmatic areas and geographic locations around the country can help encourage the adoption of useful models across state agencies.
Webinar: Innovative State Water Agency Practices: Working Toward Resilience
State agencies are developing innovative practices to build resilience into the water resource programs they administer. EPA hosted a webinar on Thursday, April 27, 2017, highlighting three innovative state initiatives that address novel stressors and improve the resilience of program operations. These examples are drawn from the Innovative State Water Agency Practices database, which includes additional practices and is a collaborative effort by the Association of Clean Water Administrators, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, Association of State Wetland Managers, and the EPA Office of Water.
ARC-X (Climate Change Adaptation Resource Center)
The EPA’s Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X) is an interactive resource to help local governments effectively deliver services to their communities even as the climate changes. Decision makers can create an integrated package of information tailored specifically to their needs. Once users select areas of interest, they will find information about the risks posed by climate change to the issues of concern; relevant adaptation strategies; case studies illustrating how other communities have successfully adapted to those risks and tools to replicate their successes; and EPA funding opportunities.