Event
From New York to Philadelphia: Expert Perspectives on Climate Change Impacts to Water Systems in the Delaware River Basin
Presented by The Water Center. This event is part of Climate Week at Penn.
Moderated by Howard Neukrug, Founder of The Water Center and Professor of Practice in Water Leadership and Innovation.
The Delaware River flows from the Catskill Mountains in New York through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware to the Delaware Bay. It provides drinking water for over 13 million people, $21 billion in ecosystem services and over $25 billion of economic activity annually. In short, the Delaware River is essential to the Mid-Atlantic region’s environmental, economic, and public health.
This expert panel will provide an overview of the top climate challenges facing the Delaware River (and the communities that rely on it) with a specific focus on how New York City and Philadelphia are responding to these challenges through changes in policy, planning and operations. Importantly, the panel will discuss why underprivileged communities often experience water-related climate impacts more acutely and have fewer resources for recovery than other communities and what can be done to make climate change adaptation more equitable for all communities that call the Delaware River home.
The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania is a trans-disciplinary applied research center focused on solving today’s urban water challenges. Aligning the University of Pennsylvania’s academic resources with water practitioner expertise, the Water Center at Penn combines policy, science and technology to create equitable, resilient and sustainable solutions.