Case Study:
Water and Wastewater Utilities
Planning for Climate Change
VSrEPA
CITY OF BLAIR, NEBRASKA
Background
The city of Blair, Nebraska provides drinking water and wastewater services to residential, industrial and commercial
customers. The city of Blair owns and operates the entire municipal water system, including a 20 million gallons per day
(MGD) water treatment plant that draws from the Missouri River. Drinking water demand for residential, commercial and
industrial customers is described in Table 1. The city of Blair has an interconnection with Omaha through a rural system
that can provide up to 1 MGD in case of an emergency.
Table 1. City of Blair Drinking Water Demand
CUSTOMER
WATER DEMAND
Residentia
Industrial - Cargill
biocampus
Average: 1 MGD; Peak demand: 4 MGD
City of Blair: population 8,000
Additional small rural systems outside the city: population of 2,000 - 4,000
10-15 MGD; higher demand in summer months
Industrial - Omaha
Public Power Plant
(OPPD) nuclear
power plant
0.4 MGD
OPPD switches over to the city of Blair's water source in warmer months when the
temperature in their usual source water is too high and could cause the nuclear plant to
violate their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System thermal discharge criteria
Additional
commercial and
industrial customers
2 MGD
Climate Threats
The city of Blair is concerned with both flooding and drought under changing climate. The city previously experienced an
extreme flooding event in 2011 that caused significant damage to the utility and surrounding area. Drought planning is a
recent focus for the city. There are five reservoirs in the Missouri River tributary of different sizes and release rates. The
Missouri River basin is controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which has notified water users on this portion of
the Missouri River - including the city of Blair - to prepare for a future scenario of 9,000 cubic feet per second (cfs)
releases from the upstream dam. A river flow of 13,000 cfs is the typical annual low flow in this portion of the river, and a
flow of 12,000 cfs is the minimum level for the city of Blair's water intakes. If flow falls below 12,000 cfs the city can no
longer meet demand and production drops off.
City of Blair, Nebraska Case Study — Page 1
SEPA

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Case Study: Water and Wastewater Utilities Planning for Climate Change
Planning Process
To better understand the vulnerability of their drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and operations, the city of Blair
assessed potential climate change impacts using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Resilience
Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT). The CREAT assessment brought together individuals from the city of Blair and
EPA to think critically about potential climate impacts, prioritize assets and consider possible adaptation options.
Adaptation Measures
During the CREAT exercise, the city of Blair considered three potential adaptive measures to reduce consequences from
the drought threat, as shown in Table 2. Implementing any of the three options will ensure that Blair could provide
continuous service to both residential customers and industrial customers; however, the three options have varying levels
of cost effectiveness and permitting requirements.
Table 2. Potential Adaptive Measures to Address Low River Flow
ADAPTIVE
MEASURE	DESCRIPTION
Pumps that could be raised and lowered into the river to continue supplying 20 MGD
A lower intake that has the ability to pull water from lower in the river and continue to supply
20 MGD
Would allow utility to continue to supply 20 MGD; however, this option raises vulnerability
concerns from being struck by river debris if flooding occurs, the requirements of storage
when not in use and significant permitting requirements
Install external
pumps
Construct new
intake
Construct barge
intake
Contact Information
For more information regarding the city of Blair's climate adaptation planning, contact Allen Schoemaker
at ARS@ci.blair.ne.us.
City of Blair, Nebraska Case Study — Page 2
*>EPA
Office of Water (4608T)
EPA 800-Q-15-001
December 2015

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