What does it mean to build “climate resilient” water supply and water resource systems? Answering that question convincingly requires properly understanding the nature of climate hazards and how they might affect water availability. The global climate system is complex: rainfall varies considerably across seasons, across regions, and (especially) across climate cycles (e.g. El Niño / La Niña). Understanding variability and the multiple influences on regional climate is essential to planning for extreme events. Today, teams of scientists from different countries are brought together by UC’s Santa Barbara’s Climate Hazards Center to make reliable drought forecasts for many parts of the world up to 8 months in advance. They do this by using estimated rainfall distributions over the entire planet at high spatial temporal resolution (think one-day or 5-day accumulations at 5 x 5 km grid resolution for the entire planet) going back over four decades and comparing them with robust estimates of sea surface temperatures (which are used to determine the strength climate oscillations like El Niño). In this episode of the REAL-Water podcast, we speak with CHC director Chris Funk about how to generate meaningful climate data products and forecast analysis, and just as importantly, how those resources are already being used to protect livelihoods.

Rural water systems in Africa have room to improve water quality monitoring. However, the most cost-effective approach for microbial water testing remains uncertain. This study, produced by REAL-Water, compared the cost per E. coli test (membrane filtration) of four approaches representing different levels of centralization: (i) one centralized laboratory serving all water systems, (ii) a mobile laboratory serving all systems, (iii) multiple semi-centralized laboratories serving clusters of systems, and (iv) decentralized analysis at each system. Learn more

Delivering safe and reliable drinking water is not just amatter of providing services; it also involves protecting the water resources on which water supply systems rely. Sometimes the most effective - andcost-effective - way to insure reliable supplies is to focus on protection and restoration of watersheds. For example, by protecting the Catskill/Delaware and Croton watersheds, covering nearly 5,200 square kilometers, the New York City water supply system was able to deliver safe water to its millions of residents by minimizing its filtration costs (it now filters only 10% of its water supply). Now, one of the world's largest and most influential conservation organizations, the Nature Conservancy, is promoting watershed protection as a means of securing water supplies all over the world, including in low- and middle-income countries, through its Resilient Watersheds Strategy and Water Funds. In this episode of the REAL-Water podcast, we are joined by the Nature Conservancy's Brooke Atwell to learn about how nature-based solutions are restoring freshwater yields, improving livelihoods, sequestering carbon and protecting ecosystems. More information on TNC's efforts to support nature-based solutions can be found at its Nature for Water Facility Website. We also invite listeners to hear more about the Cape Town, South Africa Water Fund as featured on the Unsung Science podcast with David Pogue.