Extreme Weather and Climate Hazard Impacts on Energy and Water Utilities: Implications for Department of the Air Force Installation Climate Resilience Planning

Abstract

In this report, we present an approach for estimating utility system exposure to extreme weatherand climate-related hazards for the purposes of informing where the Department of the Air Force (DAF) might consider prioritizing deep-dive vulnerability assessments. The approach explored herein uses geography to define the unit of study for conducting utility system exposure assessments (i.e., to one region of the United States) and for informing the area over which relevant exposure measures can and should be calculated for a given utility system. Furthermore, the findings and recommendations (1) consider the decisionmaking contexts under which the DAF could use regional perspectives to support installation level-planning and (2) offer insights on how to best leverage existing extreme weather and climate hazard data, information, and tools to help meet planning objectives.The intended audience for this report is the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Infrastructure, as well as DAF engineers, logisticians, and installation planners. Utility resilience is a broad area of concern within the joint community as well, and this report might also be of interest to utility managers and community planners.