Adaptation Case Studies for Water Utilities

City of Faribault, MN

The city of Faribault, located about one hour south of Minneapolis, provides wastewater services to residential and industrial customers. Their water reclamation facility (WRF) is located near the confluence of the Straight and Cannon Rivers. During a flooding event in 2010, this facility was inundated and taken completely offline for approximately two weeks. Following that flooding event, WRF assets were relocated away from the river; however, flooding concerns still exist if the river re-channels within the floodway.

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City of Fredericktown, MO

The city of Fredericktown, Missouri provides drinking water services to 2,000 residential and commercial connections. Fredericktown’s main source of water, City Lake, is a 93-acre reservoir formed through a dam on the Little St. Francois River and is jointly managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Missouri Department of Conservation. The city of Fredericktown is concerned about intense flooding and drought events which may reduce the city’s ability to provide water for essential needs within their service area. Lower water levels in City Lake also affect the quality of the water entering the plant, thus increasing water treatment costs.

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City of Los Angeles Sanitation, CA

The City of Los Angeles Sanitation (LA Sanitation) provides 4 million customers in the Los Angeles region with sewage collection, wastewater treatment, and water reclamation services. LA Sanitation's infrastructure is vulnerable to storm surges and flooding, coupled with rising sea level and landslides. Based on past experience with extreme events, LA Sanitation has already taken action to protect their assets from power outages; their current focus is additional short-term measures for strengthening physical and operational resilience.

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Capital Region Water, PA

Capital Region Water (CRW) provides drinking water services to over 60,000 and wastewater services to over 130,000 residents and businesses in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and its neighboring communities. CRW’s primary drinking water source is the DeHart Reservoir, a 6 billion gallon reservoir located 25 miles north of Harrisburg. Flooding from intense precipitation and rising river levels are of concern to CRW, as the city of Harrisburg was previously affected by severe storm events. For example, during Hurricane Agnes (1972), nearby river levels reached 36 feet, causing significant inundation at treatment facilities.

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City of Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts provides drinking water and wastewater services to residents, tourists and local businesses. The wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is located at Manchester Harbor and is designed for an average daily flow of 1.2 million gallons per day. Manchester-by-the-Sea is concerned with flooding from heavy precipitation events, coastal storm surge and sea-level rise. Most of the WWTP is located within the 100- and 500-year flood zones, including the headworks building which is at a high risk of flooding.

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