Vulnerability Assessment of Dams and Reservoirs to Climate Change in the Mediterranean Region: The Case of the Almopeos Dam in Northern Greece

Dam and reservoir (D&R) systems, during their long history, have suffered from hundreds of failures, whose mechanisms have been accelerated by climate change and climate hazards. The following research question is posed: “which are the potentially significant climate hazards of D&R systems?” To answer this question, the vulnerability of D&R systems to climate change is assessed via a typologized methodology that is consistent with the technical guidelines of the European Commission on the climate proofing of infrastructure. The main steps of the methodology, which are (1) a description of the D&R system, (2) climate change assessment, and (3) vulnerability assessment, are performed using literature surveys, expert opinions, and climate models. The methodology is applied to the Almopeos D&R system in Greece, which is in the design stage, and the following conclusions are drawn: (1) the potentially significant groups of climate hazards are (i) temperature increase and extreme heat, (ii) precipitation decrease, aridity, and droughts, and (iii) extreme precipitation and flooding, and (2) the vulnerability assessment identified the climate indicators, the most important effects, and the most vulnerable components of the D&R system that can be used in the risk assessment that follows to identify the significant climate hazards and to propose targeted adaptation strategies to reduce their risks to an acceptable level.