Community Corner

Study: Climate Change to Affect Water

The Natural Resources Defense Council releases a report showing that climate change is to have a significant impact on the local water supply.

Hermosa Beach and nearby areas are "highly likely" in coming years to experience rising sea levels, coastal flooding, and increased saltwater intrusion in water supplies, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The council, a nonprofit environmental group, released a report Tuesday that analyzed water-related impacts climate change could have in U.S. communities before the end of the 21st Century (see accompanying report under photo.)

The Los Angeles region was one of 12 areas studied in the report.

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"This report makes clear that some of the first, most profound and far-reaching impacts of climate change are water-related, and Los Angeles is certainly no exception," said Michelle Mehta, an attorney for the council’s water program and a principal author of the report.

Using research from The Pacific Institute and the California Climate Change Center, the council’s report shows that the sea level along California’s coastline already has risen at a rate of about 0.67 to 0.79 inches per decade.

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This steady increase is expected to continue. By the end of the 21st Century, the council predicts California’s sea level will be 20 to 55 inches higher than it was in 2000.

Rising sea levels would increase the risk of coastal flooding and seawater intrusion, which is already a problem along the Los Angeles County coastline, according to the council’s report.

The West Basin Municipal Water District, which serves the South Bay, gets the majority of its freshwater supply from two sources: the Sacramento—San Joaquin River Delta in Northern California and from runoff of melting snow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

In these areas where much of L.A. County’s water supply originates, climate models predict drier conditions will develop, according to the council’s report, causing an increase in drought periods.

Temperatures might rise by a range of about 3.6 to 9 degrees by the end of the century, the council's report said.

Despite these threats, the council’s report acknowledges that the county is "taking several important steps to understand and prepare for the projected impacts of climate change on area water supplies and waterways," Mehta said. "We encourage Los Angeles to maintain an aggressive preparedness pace and urge other communities to follow its lead."

The county is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for example, and teaming with experts to analyze the impacts of climate change on water supplies from the Eastern Sierra Nevada, as well as how to prepare for these impacts.

"Los Angeles is taking important steps to address climate change's impact on water, providing a positive example for others to look to," said Steve Fleischli, senior attorney in the water program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

"Our hope is that communities throughout the Pacific Coast region and nationwide will take a cue from Los Angeles and begin the process of preparing for climate change with the same seriousness as emergency preparedness planning," he said.

In recent years, Hermosa Beach city officials have aimed to educate the community about water conservation through rebates and other programs. 

Hermosa Beach recently won the regional , and has installed a as well as to filter and divert urban runoff and other wastes from entering the ocean.

Many efforts to reduce the city’s environmental impact also can be seen through the Hermosa Beach Green Task Force. As the city continues an effort to conserve and protect water, residents are encouraged to do the same.

"We’re going to have to change our habits and that’s hard," city Senior Planner Pamela Townsend in April.

— City News Service contributed to this report.

Earlier Patch coverage of Hermosa Beach's water supply:


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