For residents of areas prone to heavy precipitation, the threat of flooding is scary enough — but it just got worse. New research shows that the likelihood of sewage flooding is going to skyrocket for several cities on the Northeastern seaboard.
What's happening?
For many years, several coastal cities have been living with outdated sewage systems — and with climate change poised to trigger more extreme precipitation, these systems are at particular risk for flooding.
A combined system is one in which stormwater and sewage are collected using the same pipes, which direct all water flow to wastewater treatment facilities, according to Phys.org. But since the pipes can only handle a certain volume of flow, they can back up and cause flooding. This means that both the surrounding bodies of water, as well as people's homes, are at risk to be hit with waves of sewage water.
Researchers at Philadelphia's Drexel University modeled the risks — and a potential solution — in a study, which was published in the Journal of Water Management Modeling. They found that, even with varying degrees of increased precipitation, the risk of sewage overflows will increase.
Why is this concerning?
"Climate change is making what was already a difficult problem even more challenging," Phys.org quoted Franco Montalto, Ph.D., a professor at Drexel. "The combination of sea-level rise and precipitation intensification is particularly difficult for urban stormwater managers because it means the combined sewer system is being loaded from both sides. In many cases, there's no place for the water to go but up and out onto the street creating environmental and health risks."
According to Phys.org, close to 40 million people live in areas with combined sewer systems. The Environmental Protection Agency warns that being exposed to sewage overflow will put them at risk for illnesses such as gastroenteritis, cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis.
What's being done to mitigate future flooding?
In their research, Drexel's team also modeled a potential solution, which involves diverting upstream stormwater out of the sewage system to alleviate the pressure on the pipes.
The team found that this step would "help under all future climate scenarios," according to Phys.org. However, while the diversion would assist in mitigating the severity of the flooding, it would not prevent the flooding, so the team is looking to model other potential solutions as well.
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