Climate Change Negotiation Role-Play: Water Use Helping Cities Adapt to Climate Change Risks (I)

River and stream levels have been remarkably volatile in the region around Evantown for the past decade, reaching record highs and lows. The major source of water both for the city and for area businesses and industry is the Foltz river, which experienced notably high water levels three years ago but has fallen to record lows for the past two years. A drought in 2008 brought the issue to a head as the city of Evantown was forced to implement a water conservation initiative due to low water levels. The mayor has now convened five key stakeholders to discuss the three major decisions that will impact future use of the river – whether or nor to increase water allocations to several different actos, whether and how to invest in improving the efficiency of the water infrastructure, and whether and how to improve residential water use efficiency. A key criterion in determining the merit of a particular set of options is how seriously the group takes the most extreme projected impacts of climate change.