Progress on Incorporating Climate Change into Planning and Management of California’s Water Resources

On June 1, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-3-05 establishing greenhouse gas emissions targets for California and requiring biennial reports on potential climate change effects on several areas, including water resources. The Governor established a Climate Action Team (CAT) to guide the reporting efforts. The CAT selected four climate change scenarios that reflect two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios represented by two Global Climate Models (GCMs). The CAT requested that those four climate change scenarios be used whenever possible in the climate change reporting efforts.

This report is the Department of Water Resources response to the Executive Order. This report describes progress made incorporating climate change into existing water resources planning and management tools and methodologies.