The Water Forum’s Symposium was a thought-provoking, interactive exploration of climate change and its projected impacts that threaten the Sacramento region’s water supplies, flood protection, and aquatic ecosystems and environment. The event discussed potential solutions, mitigation and adaptation strategies to create a climate-resilient future where all of the Sacramento region’s inhabitants can live in unison. Speakers highlighted environmental justice and equity throughout the symposium. The concluding panel focused on solutions to invest in communities sensitive to climate change, who have experienced economic and physical displacement as a result of historical underinvestment and inequitable, exclusionary planning decisions. The event closed with a reception to celebrate the Water Forum’s 20th Anniversary, and the Sacramento region’s progress toward reaching the co-equal goals of providing reliable and safe water supplies for the Sacramento region and preserving the environment of the lower American River.

New Study on Climate Impacts to be Featured During the Water Forum 20th Anniversary Symposium

The American River Basin Study is a comprehensive watershed-level look at projected climate change impacts on the Sacramento region’s water resources and environment. The study uses leading-edge science and modeling tools to forecast impacts on water supply, flood control, and critical habitat within the lower American River. Tony Firenzi of the Placer County Water Agency discussed the study findings during the Climate Symposium, as well as far-reaching adaptation strategies planned to maintain our environment, economy and quality of life.

On July 29th, we hosted our second virtual workshop,  joined by Janice Lam Snyder of SMAQMD, Meg Arnold of Valley Vision, Adrienne Moretz of SACOG, Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B&L, Louis Stewart of the City of Sacramento, Giovanni Circella of UC Davis, & Chris Flores of SacRT. This workshop explored COVID-driven rapid innovations, extending new behaviors including teleworking, the impacts of perceived risk on transportation and mobility, and more.

On April 16th, we hosted our first ever virtual workshop (“virtualshop”), joined by Yoon Kim of Four Twenty Seven, Michael McCormick of Harris & Associates, and Kate Gordon of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. During this two hour workshop, Yoon Kim and Michael McCormick discussed how COVID-19 is impacting our world, particularly the potential interplay between the economic impacts of COVID-19 and the need for public and private sector climate action, broadband access, resilience building, and adaptation funding. Kate Gordon also discussed the state’s priorities for climate moving forward.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) and the Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative (CRC) conducted a regional urban heat island study, funded by a Caltrans SB1 Adaptation Planning Grant, to research strategies and provide recommendations to reduce the Capital Region’s urban heat island (UHI) effect.

Summers are becoming hotter in the Capital Region – and some places are warming faster than others. In fact, California’s latest Climate Assessment warns that the Capital Region will be as hot as Phoenix, Arizona, in 40 years. Urban and suburban areas can often be substantially hotter than the surrounding countryside, as a result of roofs, pavements, and buildings that all trap and produce heat – a phenomenon known as the UHI effect. In the Capital Region, the heat and pollutants that make up the UHI effect originates from urban Sacramento, but their impacts extend beyond Sacramento County up to Roseville, Auburn, and El Dorado.

Because the urban heat island effect is not a natural phenomenon and is the result of human development, we also have the ability to reverse this effect and cool our communities. Solutions such as urban forestry, cool roofs, cool and permeable pavements, and electric vehicles can help cool temperatures while delivering many public health and environmental co-benefits.

Understanding Our Regional Heat Island Challenge

Everyone knows how hot it is stepping outside onto a black asphalt parking lot in the middle of the summer – but have you thought about how that heat can have cascading, regional impacts for air quality, public health, transportation, and more? The Capital Region’s urban heat island effect spreads far and wide, out from urban Sacramento to El Dorado, Folsom, Roseville, and beyond, thanks to our unique geography and weather patterns. This webinar introduced the unique characteristics of the Capital Region’s urban heat island effect and discuss the heat island’s implications for climate resilience, our transportation system, air quality, energy savings, and more.

The network of roads, highways, and pavements that support our transportation system is a key contributor to the heat island effect. The transportation sector is, in turn, affected by extreme heat, which will deteriorate pavements, increase maintenance costs, and damage rails. Extreme heat will also threaten the health of people who rely on walking, biking, and public transit – disproportionately burdening low-income communities and communities of color – as well as construction and utilities workers. However, there are solutions to improve the resilience of the transportation sector and reduce its contributions to the urban heat island effect. Cool pavements can help to cool the environment and protect public health, while EVs can also help to reduce urban heat, as they emit 80% less waste heat than conventional, internal-combustion engine vehicles. This webinar focused on how cool pavements can reduce the urban heat island effect, including presentations on how cool pavements and vehicle electrification can provide effective cooling for the Capital Region, with a special look at Sacramento’s low-income and under-served communities; and examples of transportation-sector solutions, such as cool pavements, bus shelter shading, and more.

Did you know your roof is adding extra heat to your house in the summer? Our buildings are key contributors to the urban heat island effect, as roofs absorb heat and slowly radiate it out back into the environment – as well as warming up the indoors. Cool roofs and shade trees can help to cool our environment, while also delivering benefits such as up to a 20% savings on A/C costs, improved air quality, carbon sequestration, and a more beautiful community. 

This webinar discussed how improvements in our built environment across the Capital Region can help to substantially cool the Capital Region. Dr. Haider Taha presented his modeling results demonstrating the substantial cooling benefits of high-albedo roofs and tree canopy increases, and how they can support and enhance each other as complementary cooling measures, as well as how smart growth, solar PV, and other built environment improvements can help to cool the urban environment. Torin Dunnavant discussed how urban heat reduction and climate action are core priorities of the Tree Foundation’s work, and how you can make a difference.