Climate Change and Resilience
Climate Change and Resilience
Creating resilient and strategic solutions to climate impacts for our communities
The impact of changing climatic conditions to facilities, operations, and the broader community are top of mind for organizations across North America. As a leader in climate resilience, BC collaborates with clients to develop innovative and custom solutions to solve complex challenges while building adaptive capacity to remain flexible in the face of uncertain climate variability, including:
- Utilities, municipalities, and other public entities to instill transparency, trust, and stewardship into short- and long-term plans and projects
- Private companies to reduce business risks, increase opportunities for social impact, and reduce reputational risks (see how we are advancing water stewardship through ESG commitments and making data center water more water efficient)
- Public and private sector partnerships thrive through actions that are not only mutually beneficial but have a broader positive impact on the local communities, watershed, and environment
We work with clients to identify pathways that benefit local communities, support financial viability (e.g., creditworthiness), improve operations, reduce critical asset and facility liabilities, and enhance environmental stewardship.
We rely on methods for flexible design and adaptation, bolstered by a research team that tracks and pilots groundbreaking technologies. We identify and emphasize the connectivity of interdependent systems, giving focus to nature-based solutions that both mitigate and enhance a community’s response to climate change.
Awards
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2021
National Safety Council, Occupational Excellence Achievement
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2021
National Safety Council, Perfect Record Award
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2021
Disability Equality Index, Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion
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2021
American Society of Civil Engineers Sacramento Section, Outstanding Sustainable Engineering Award
Water Resources
Building climate resilient communities and industries with water, wastewater, and stormwater through:
- Climate adaptation/action plans
- Risk and vulnerability assessment
- Scenario planning
- Adaptation strategy development
Site assessment and monitoring
Recovering, transforming, and deploying organics to their highest and best use:
- Resource recovery and valorization
- Energy utilization optimization
- Renewable energy generation
- GHG emissions assessment and reduction
Engineering and technology
Supporting short- and long-term adaptability through:
- Research providing scientific and data-driven foundations for change
- Strategic and long-term planning
- Business case evaluations
- Climate transition plans
Partnering with clients to improve water stewardship and meet ESG commitments
As more companies and communities consider making Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, the growing focus on water stewardship and resilience is shifting attention to water quality, quantity, and availability. The global shift to integrate sustainability reporting into annual financial reporting is promoting new levels of water stewardship for businesses and our communities—creating more opportunities for public-private partnerships to increase water availability, benefit our environment, and support our communities.
Establishing a vision for meeting future water challenges
Facing evolving challenges from climate change and population growth, the Colorado Water Conservation Board sought a revision of their Colorado Water Plan (CWP). Coordinating with stakeholders, BC developed an action-focused update to the CWP by prioritizing projects into strategy-focused plans for each of the State’s nine basins to identify and secure the state’s future water needs. This statewide framework integrates the impacts of climate change, environmental needs, projections about future water supplies, and estimates of gaps to comprehensively and consistently inform the future of Colorado’s water supply planning. State water planners are now able to frame future water supply issues in a more comprehensive manner. and identify and prioritize water supply strategies in ways that consider an uncertain future.
A history of delivering innovative and forward-thinking solutions
BC has a rich history with King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division that began in 1958 with the development of the County’s original sewer and drainage survey. In the 1980s, BC designed what was the first-ever renewable natural gas (RNG) from wastewater treatment system in North America and, at the time, the largest wastewater heat recovery project in the world. Well ahead of its time, the project supported the County’s energy management plan and allowed them to capture renewable energy in two innovative forms. Decades later, BC continues to work closely with King County to develop forward-thinking and multi-benefit solutions, including the County’s Clean Water Plan. This plan will guide the direction and prioritization of billions of dollars in future investments to achieve the best water quality benefits, provide equitable and affordable service, and address climate change and sustainability goals.
Building resilience through adaptive strategies
Facing unpredictable climate-related risks to their water supplies and infrastructure, Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) engaged with the Water Research Foundation (WRF) and selected BC to evaluate the impacts of climate change and develop adaptive strategies for the BWS. This adaptive planning approach yielded an iterative process to promote flexible decision making in the face of uncertainties and increase preparedness and to address a range of potential changing conditions for near-, mid-, and long-term implementation. This same approach can be implemented for a range of potential conditions including future climate predictions, water supply demands, and economic development to promote flexibility throughout changing circumstances.
Restoration with the future in mind
When the City of Norfolk (Virginia) was awarded a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) – Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant, they turned to BC to provide assessment, design, permitting and construction services for six projects to restore 11,500 linear feet of shoreline, including the creation of 3.34 acres of wetland marsh and 1.44 acres of oyster reefs. BC designed suitable, cost-effective sills to protect the created wetland areas and shoreline banks from erosion, while taking projected sea-level rise and land subsidence estimates into consideration. Where applicable, oyster reefs were integrated into the sill design to provide better long-term structural stability of the sill, improved water quality, and improved habitat along the eroded shorelines.
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