Watershed-Scale, Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Water Resources Impacts from Climate Change

A framework for the assessment of relative risk to watershed-scale water resources from systemic changes is presented. It is composed of two experiments, or pathways, within a Monte Carlo structure and provides quantification of prediction uncertainty. One simulation pathway is the no change, or null hypothesis, experiment, and the other provides simulation of the hypothesized system change. Each pathway uses a stochastic weather generator and a deterministic water balance model. For climate change impact analysis, the framework is calibrated so that the differences between thirty-year average precipitation and temperature pathway values reproduce climate trends. Simulated weather provides forcing for identical water balance models. Probabilistic time histories of differences in actual evapotranspiration, runoff, and recharge provide likelihood per magnitude change to water resources availability. The framework is applied to a semi-arid watershed in Texas. Projected climate trends for the site are a 3 °C increase in average temperature and corresponding increase in potential evapotranspiration, no significant change in average annual precipitation, and a semi-arid classification from 2011–2100. Two types of water balance model are used in separate applications: (1) monthly water balance and (2) daily distributed parameter. Both implementations predict no significant change, on average, to actual evapotranspiration, runoff, or recharge from 2011–2100 because precipitation is unchanged on average. Increases in extreme event intensity are represented for future conditions producing increased water availability during infrequent events.