We will expand our adaptation
strategies beyond the protection of our water supply,
sewer, and wastewater treatment systems to include all
essential city infrastructure
In 2004, the City's Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) initiated a Climate Change Task Force to study
the potential impacts of climate change on our water
infrastructure. Working with research scientists at
the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia
University's Center for Climate Systems Research, and
other institutions, DEP has generated global and regional
climate models that have been included in the agency's
strategic and capital planning.
For example, the design and operation of our sewer
and wastewater treatment systems have been based on
existing sea levels-as they are in most jurisdictions.
But these levels are changing. When combined with increasingly
severe storm surges, there will be significant operational
effects. The Task Force evaluated these impacts, enabling
DEP to take such risks into account as they site new
facilities and invest in existing ones.
But substantial other aspects of our infrastructure
remain at risk, especially from sea level change; our
subterranean subway system and tunnels, the airports,
which are at sea level, power plants, which are often
on waterfront sites, waste transfer terminals, and other
critical infrastructure are all potentially vulnerable.
As these facilities are owned and operated by a variety
of entities, protecting these sites will require a coordinated
effort among the City, the State, the MTA, the Port
Authority, and the utilities.
That's why the City will invite these and other relevant
public and quasi-public entities to join the New York
City Climate Change Task Force. The Task Force will
create an inventory of existing at-risk infrastructure,
analyze and prioritize the components of each system,
develop adaptation strategies, and design guidelines
for new infrastructure.
This will not be an easy task. For most agencies, planning
for climate change is a new challenge and given other
competing-and often immediate-needs, it is often difficult
to prioritize. As a result, integrating climate change
impacts into long-term capital planning will require
new ways of thinking. But it is essential to begin.
Progress (as of 4/22/08):
The City has identified members of the Climate Change
Technical Advisory Committee and is preparing to hold
the kick-off meeting of the task force and advisory
committee.
Progress (as of 10/22/08):
The City launched the New York City Climate Change Adaptation Task Force on August 12, 2008. In addition, the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), which will be provided technical assistance and expertise to the task force, held its first meeting on August 11, 2008.
New York Panel on Climate Change Report (in PDF) |
