Moderate surface water temperature increases

Climate change is projected to increase surface water temperatures and alter hydrologic regimes, increasing the risks of degraded water chemistry and anoxic conditions, which can in turn result in reduced habitat quality and aquatic organism mortality. Some aquatic species are expected to expand into new areas as they seek refuge, while others may be at risk if they are unable to migrate or withstand and adapt to changing thermal conditions at a sufficient rate. Efforts to offset warming temperatures in riparian corridors and within sensitive systems, may reduce the extent of water warming and offset some evaporative losses.

This strategy addresses the additional efforts necessary to sustain clean water in a changing climate, with an emphasis on anticipating and preventing increased stresses before water quality impairment occurs. Forest managers may already implement actions that avoid degradation to water quality, but water quality is expected to change, possibly worsen in some areas due to changes in seasonal precipitation regimes and warming. As hydrology and ecosystems change reflecting a changing climate, these changes are likely to combine with existing land-use issues to further degrade or diminish water quality. These changes may result in altered water chemistry, increased mobilization of pollutants and sediments to surface waters, altered pollutant resident times, and increasing water temperatures.