Climate change adaptation in water quality and treatment

Evidence increasingly shows that climate change affects water quality. For instance, lower precipitation reduces the river flow and therefore the dilution capacity of river systems, decreasing the water quality. Or extreme precipitation events flush untreated pollutants from urban areas and agricultural lands into surface water, also reducing the water quality. An increase in water quality constituents in surface waters affects ecosystem and human health and influences food security and energy production. Improving water quality should be a focus of water managers in the coming decades.

Water quality management should incorporate climate change impacts. Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to climate change impacts, such as deteriorating water quality. While some studies exist that evaluate adaptation options for water quality, and some studies include water quality when they evaluate the trade-offs of climate change adaptation, this field is still in its infancy. In this special issue, climate change adaptation for water quality and treatment has a central focus. We welcome different types of papers, including literature reviews, perspectives, modelling, field and laboratory studies. Articles could provide a more general perspective or focus on a particular pollutant, impact, adaptation option or area.

Topics that may be included in this issue include:

• Vulnerability assessment of climate change impacts on water quality
  • Sewer overflows
  • Manure runoff
  • Water (re)use/irrigation
  • Consequences for drinking water, recreational water
  • Combined impacts of water quality constituents
  • Brownification processes in surface water
• Methodology development for climate change adaptation assessment for water quality
• An overview of adaptation options for water quality
• Trade-offs and synergies in climate change adaptation related to water quality
• Climate change adaptation policy and governance
• Development of adaptation or development pathways for water quality