The Providence Water Supply Board manages more than 13,000 acres of forest land in the 93 mi2 Scituate Reservoir Watershed. Fuss & O’Neill developed a climate change action plan for the watershed that would coordinate adaptation actions with the existing Water Quality Protection Plan and Source Water Assessment and Protection Plan for the drinking water utility.

The assessment focused on vulnerability related to forest lands, water quality, and hydrology. It identified adaptation options in four key areas based on anticipated climate change, with a focus on precipitation and temperature, as well as climate-related stressors with an emphasis on hydrology, ecosystems, and water quality.

Assessment Data – The assessment relied on readily available data layers so that the assessment could be both incorporated into the Providence Water GIS system and so the vulnerability scoring could be updated in the future as conditions in the watershed changed.