These are also the places most prone to flooding, but they can be protected, according to Porter. Wastewater treatment plants-integral parts of water systems-tend to be located in low-lying areas, because it's cheaper to let the wastewater run downhill. Wastewater treatment plants are particularly vulnerable to flooding but can be protected And if we don't enter another golden age of building in the 2020s, "the news is going to be filled with the age of infrastructure failure." "When you don't put the funds into maintaining your infrastructure on a regular basis, it starts to wear down just like anything, just like your car," said Chinoswky. And like Jackson, much of the nation's current infrastructure was built in the 1960s and 1970s, and only designed to last 40 or 50 years.
Water system failures like this can take days or weeks to repair and replace, and are much more challenging and expensive than maintaining a system in the first place, he said. The results are what we're seeing now in places like Jackson, Mississippi-where aging pipes and pumps failed in the face of heavy rainfall, leading to pump failures and the shutdown of the entire local water system, according to Chinowsky. Infrastructure has been aging in the United States for decades Here's what the two experts told CU Boulder Today about the effects of climate change on U.S. Porter is also the lead author on a 2011 report about the ARkStorm (named for Atmospheric River 1,000), a major meteorological event expected to hit California in the next 150 years that could cause catastrophic flooding. Keith Porter, adjoint professor in civil, environmental and architectural engineering, studies how natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, windstorms and wildfire affect infrastructure, society and the economy. Paul Chinowsky, professor emeritus of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, studies how infrastructure in the U.S. Is all of this flooding normal? And why doesn't our infrastructure seem to be up to the task?
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