A multi-university study in the US has highlighted risks from climate change to small rural groundwater municipalities that do not treat drinking water, finding that climate change-related seasonal precipitation changes will marginally increase the incidence of gastrointestinal illness in children.

Published in Hydrogeology and Human Health, the study focused on northern Wisconsin, using 13 global climate models to predict future precipitation values.

The study looked at three scenarios: climate change alone, climate change and the current slow pace of installing treatment, and climate change and a faster rate of installation. A slow rate of treatment slightly reduced illness, but a rapid increase in the rate of treatment was predicted to largely decrease the rate of incidence.