After several harsh winters, several major railroad disasters, and a greater frequency of severe storms, more and more people realize that we have ignored our infrastructure for way too long. Perhaps the tragedy with drinking water infrastructure in Flint, MI put us over the edge. While the focus there has been on who knew what when, this would not have been an issue if the Michigan government had not kept cutting their appropriations for all infrastructure. Even the Michigan Legislature began to support tax increases to support road and bridge repairs two years ago and even Chambers of Commerce, who have been major proponents of tax reductions and smaller government, now realize that potholes, sinkholes, improper water and energy delivery, and bridge failures are not good for the businesses they represent. The Federal government is discussing increasing appropriations for infrastructure upgrades, as well.
Let’s hope that any surge in infrastructure upgrade projects takes potential future effects of Climate Change into account. What is the use of re-paving a road, re-piping water mains, etc., if flooding due to sea level rise and strong storms may wipe out upgraded infrastructure? Therefore, the key concept is resiliency, how the structure will stand up to more rain, snow, longer periods of weather extremes, etc. Some key concepts:
o design, construct roadways, bridges, facilities, railroads, and piping to withstand weather extremes beyond the current norm and to require less maintenance, using materials which will perform more consistently in weather extremes.
o new designs of water runoff including permeable pavement and robust drain and river banks and ditches to handle large quantities of stormwater and less erosion.
o more, not less, roadside vegetation to ensure water uptake during severe storms, plus drought and erosion resiliency.
o larger capacity pumps/pump stations to prevent flooding in key areas.
o better sewer and cleaner water lines to adapt to greater and more frequent freeze-thaw, deeper frosts and drought and flood conditions.
A 2014 US GAO study, “Climate Change Energy Infrastructure Risks and Adaptation Efforts” reviewed likely impacts of climate change on US energy infrastructure, such as
o increased demands for electricity (cooling, pumps, etc.).
o physical risk of damage to the grid.
o risk of power plants’ reliability due to water shortages.
There appears to be momentum for politicians to approve more infrastructure upgrade projects, as the growing incidents are embarrassing politicians. Let’s hope that the engineering community gets more involved with design of projects and takes potential climate change impacts into consideration for long-term benefits, such as LEED.
CCES can help your firm assess its climate change risk, both physical and financial, from extreme storms, sea level rise, flooding, etc. We can help you design and manage solutions to improve your resiliency and benefit your bottom line. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.