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About the Program

Climate change has the potential to affect all of the missions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Responses to Climate Change Program develops and implements practical, nationally consistent, and cost-effective approaches and policies to reduce potential vulnerabilities to the Nation’s water infrastructure resulting from climate change and variability. IWR works in partnership on this effort with other Federal science and water management agencies, and other stakeholders.

USACE operations and water management control activities provide the largest challenge given future climate change and variability.  In order to ensure continued effective and efficient water operations in both the short (5-10 years) and longer term (10—50 years), nationally consistent but regionally tailored water management adaptation strategies and polices are needed.  Such policies must balance project operations and water allocations within authorized project purposes with changing water needs and climate-driven changes to operating parameters. This must be accomplished while working in close coordination with a wide variety of intergovernmental stakeholders and partners. 

This program will also provide planning and engineering guidance to ensure future infrastructure is designed to be sustainable and robust in a range of potential climate changes.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Responses to Climate Change Program is:

To develop, implement, and assess adjustments or changes in operations and decision environments to enhance resilience or reduce vulnerability of USACE projects, systems, and programs to observed or expected changes in climate.

revised 17 November 2011

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