Experts Say Climate Change Is Already Affecting Philadelphia Area's Water Supply
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - EPA officials held a seminar today for local environmentalists, state and local governments, and others interested in the threat to our area's drinking water.
Climate changes are already affecting the Delaware River Basin, according to Penn State meteorology professor Ray Najjar (above).
Najjar says over the last 100 years the basin has warmed by a couple of degrees, and the amount of precipitation we get is directly tied to human caused climate change.
"If we continue to emit carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases continue to rise, we're going to see more severe warming, precipitation increases, reduced snow melt," Najjar said.
And this means that water resources will become precious.
"You can have all the water in the world, but if it's not quality water it doesn't provide a potable water supply," said EPA regional administrator Shawn Garvin, who then listed some of the things that are damaging the region's water supply: "The runoff of fertilizers, what's coming out of our air, people dumping stuff into their storm drains."
He says we all have a personal responsibility to protect our water supply.
Reported by Michelle Durham, KYW Newsradio 1060.
