Local Resilience of CWS and Severe Weather Patterns

Natural disasters and changing patterns of severe weather events are presenting mounting challenges for

communities who need to define and agree upon a resilience plan. To respond to this need, an on-line decision

support system tool for deliberative risk ranking was tested on the Community Water Systems of two coastal

communities in the US. This tool, by breaking down the risk ranking process into phases, reconciles local

experiences with recorded hazard scenarios. Water system risks defined and prioritized qualitatively in a first

phase, are recursively compared to the effects that past local hazards had on the local community. The process

enables communities to prepare for climatologically induced changes in natural hazards by helping them to

prioritize the benefits they receive from local vulnerable systems and resources.