RIPS Type 2 Collaborative Research: Water and Electricity Infrastructure in the Southeast (WEIS) - Approaches to Resilient Interdependent Systems under Climate Change

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This research will develop a general methodology to study climate change implications for the interdependent critical infrastructures (ICI) systems of water supply and electric power generation. Competing demands for water services affect the availability of water for the power sector (and hence its reliability), while reliable power supply is needed to operate the water supply system. This project will demonstrate a method for evaluating the interdependence and resiliency of ICI systems on the Southeast U.S. through 2050. In order to evaluate the risks and improve the resilience of the ICI systems, the project will include five interconnected research thrusts, each developed in general terms, then applied in the target area: 1. Social Context: What are the organizational, social, psychological, legal, political, and economic needs, wants, resources, and obstacles relevant to creating resilient, socially acceptable improvements in the electric power and water supply ICI systems? 2. Hazards: How will climate change and related extreme weather events affect local hydrology and thus water-induced risks in the southeastern U.S.? 3. Vulnerability: How will these changes affect short-term operations and long-term planning for existing and future electric power and water supply ICI systems in the Southeast between 2010 and 2050? 4. Adaptation: What are technically and economically feasible climate adaptation investments in the electric power and water supply ICI systems between 2010 and 2050? 5. Communication and acceptability: How can these analytical results be communicated to the stakeholders who will need to evaluate and act on them? This research will advance both the individual sciences (e.g., numerical modeling, natural hazards research, impact assessment, energy and water management, decision science) and their integration. This project will stimulate interactions between disciplines that infrequently have the sustained opportunities for the collaboration needed to understand the mutual implications of their research and to develop methods that address those interfaces. The shared focus on ICIs will allow these communities to develop the common language needed to develop the integrative methods that enrich the respective fields while creating unique joint products. For example, improved understanding of the hydrological impacts of climate change and extreme weather events will inform scientists working on climate assessment, while stimulating the behavioral science research needed to engage stakeholders responsible for using that information in electric power and water supply ICIs. Similarly, this project will prompt research integrating control and engineering science as they apply to these problems. It will also extend science communication research to grappling with the unique issues raised by ICIs (e.g., long-time horizons, complex interactions), informed by the expertise of the other scientists on the project. The project will support interdisciplinary collaboration among engineers, earth scientists, and social scientists at three different institutions. A primary goal of this project is to communicate with stakeholders so as to make its work as relevant as possible and to engage them throughout the process so that they are ready to see the implications of its questions and results for policy making. To that end, the project will include outreach activities targeting climate/environmental entities, utility companies, policy makers and community leaders, the academic community, and the general public.