Freshwater resources are critical to the health of people, the environment, and the economy. Recent studies and assessments of climate change impacts, including the 2009 "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States" prepared by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, identify several major impacts of a changing climate on the Nation's fresh- water resources. For instance, projected increases in air temperatures will lead to warmer waters. Rainfall amounts are expected to decline in some areas and increase in others, while the propor- tion of precipitation that falls as snow decreases....
Freshwater resources are critical to the health of people, the environment, and the economy. Recent studies and assessments of climate change impacts,...