Contemporary climate analogs project strong regional differences in the future water and electricity demand across US cities

Water and electricity systems are highly interconnected in terms of supply (e.g., electricity is used in the treatment and distribution of water) and demand (e.g., appliances that use water within homes also use electricity). Understanding the impact that climate change may have on coupled water and electricity demand is a crucial task for ensuring resilient planning and sustainable management of water and energy infrastructure. Here, we leverage an efficient methodology that integrates contemporary climate analogs and machine learning to project the city-level coupled water and electricity demand of 46 major US cities into the future. The results show strong regional differences, with some cities possibly experiencing increases in summer water and electricity demand of up to 15% and 20%, respectively, because of climate change. Obtaining projections of future water and electricity demand under climate change is critical for building resilient infrastructure in the face of climate change.