The Pacific Institute, Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN), and Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated (RCAP) today released new research outlining how climate change impacts are leading to devastating consequences for water and wastewater systems in rural communities across the United States. The report also introduces an innovative community-centered framework to assist leaders in rural communities to build equitable water and wastewater systems that will be resilient to climate change in the future.  … The report, “Water and Climate Equity in Rural Water Systems in the United States,” highlights these issues in the Southwest and Central Appalachian regions, where a concentration of homes lack access to water and sanitation services. … The report also underscores that climate change will continue to exacerbate many existing water challenges, including water quality, affordability, availability, and access, as well as aging infrastructure and disaster recovery.

Related studies: 

• Environmental Science, Policy, & Management/UC Berkeley: Planning for climate resilience in California’s freshwater ecosystems
• UCLA: ‘This is about hope:’ Scientists offer climate solutions for sustainability in California