A wastewater treatment plant in Sarasota, Florida was designed to withstand the impact of a Category 3 hurricane. Photo credit: Charlie Fernandes
The two-story building in Sarasota and other critical designated storm shelters will remain operational during a storm. Photo credit: Charlie Fernandes
Vedachalam says water management is a nationwide problem in the face of climate change and requires more than addressing wastewater systems. “In places like the Midwest and Northeast, they are experiencing more rain events,’’ he said. “In Florida and Georgia, parts of their coast are near sea level. Virginia is seeing sea level rise. If you go to the western US, it’s typically dry but we’ve also seen some significant flooding. The impacts of climate change are felt even in cities that are farther away from the coasts and experiencing inland flooding.” Treatment Plant Improvements Some communities have already taken steps to address their wastewater infrastructure in the wake of climate change. Anacortes, Washington’s treatment plant is located along the Skagit River. The plant serves 56,000 people, and city leaders realized it was vulnerable to floods and future climate risks back in 2003. It needed to update the facility from 21.4 million gallons of water per day to 31.5 million gallons per day, but moving the facility out of the floodplain was deemed too costly. Officials rebuilt the plant on the existing site in a $56 million project. When upgrading the facility, officials received input from scientists and used climate data to make informed decisions. They incorporated projections of climate vulnerability within plant design to adapt to future conditions. The steps Anacortes took included elevating structures and installing ring dikes and dewatering pump systems to protect against flooding. The solution also included raising and strengthening levees near the plant, placing switch gears above 100-year flood level, and utilizing watertight construction and a waterproof membrane below 40-foot elevation. Boston also addressed climate change at its Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority determined facility vulnerability to sea level rise and raised key portions of the plant 1.9 feet. The redesign and construction over a
10-year period was part of a $3.8 billion upgrade to add secondary treatment and consolidate regional treatment capacity by increasing Deer Island capacity from 250 million to 350 million gallons per day. Expensive Solutions Solutions for repairing the country’s wastewater treatment plants are costly. Federal assistance for projects is available from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. The program provides money for eligible water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Vedachalam said more innovation could also help alleviate issues with climate change and overtaxed wastewater systems. “One option to manage the excess rainfall could be to make bigger pipes and have holding tanks where you can hold water for a couple of days until it can be released back into the community,’’ he said. “You might have a combination of natural infrastructure solutions where you’re trying to absorb water on land by converting existing concrete and asphalt into more natural systems. It has to be a combination of different things.” Addressing the crisis, however, will take time. “I think we’re seeing it unfold right now where there is more emphasis on resiliency and preparedness rather than simply being reactive to a disaster,’’ Vedachalam said. “People are realizing that shifts need to happen more quickly. It’s going to take several more disasters before we start to see significant change.”
THOMAS RENNER writes on building, construction and other trade industry topics for publications throughout the United States.
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