Infrastructure for a Changing Climate

Bostick noted that much of the Army Corps of Engineers’ infrastructure is over 50 years old, and some of it is crumbling because of lack of funds for maintenance — a major issue for infrastructure in general. Given the many needs competing for government resources, Bostick sees a role for the private sector going forward. “A big part of how we pay for it in the future, I think, has to consider public-private partnerships.”

He also stressed the importance of prioritizing among infrastructure projects and finishing them rather than spreading money thinly over many projects that then take a long time to complete. “Setting priorities is the other really important part of moving forward.”

Bending without Breaking
The need to build infrastructure that’s resilient — capable of “bending but not breaking” and recovering in what will likely be increasingly daunting conditions — was stressed by both speakers.  

“To me, that’s what resilience is all about,” said Bostick. “We need to think about that in all of our systems, because there’s going to be a bigger Katrina, there’s going to be a bigger Sandy, there’s going to be a bigger Hurricane Maria, and they’re going to be right around the corner.”

Bostick offered an example of resilient infrastructure in the context of the Mississippi River and tributary system, which saw massive floods in 1927, 1994, and 2011. After the 1927 flood — which killed nearly 1,000 people and inundated millions of acres of farmland — the USACE was directed to build the system of locks and dams and floodways along the river.

At a chokepoint south of St. Louis where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers converge, the volume of water is so huge that it’s impossible to build anything that can resist it, said Bostick. So the USACE built a floodway — 5 miles wide and 65 miles long — to allow the river to flood on purpose, relieving pressure on the infrastructure. During the 2011 flood, the Corps opened up the levy and let the river inundate the floodway.

It was an example of bending but not breaking, and also of improving infrastructure over time. While the 2011 flood had a much higher volume of water than the 1927 flood, it caused far less damage, said Bostick. “You want to adapt so that you’re stronger — so that [for] your next cycle, you actually have a higher level of functionality.”

Building structures that can adapt to climate change and withstand its extremes will require innovation, said Anderson. “As we build new physical structures, we [need to] think about the digital part of it — for example, building in sensors that tell you something about the current state of the structure and might give you information or warning if something’s going to fail.”

Innovation will also play a role in mitigating the extent of climate change. “The net-zero carbon goals we have will require many creative engineering achievements,” said Anderson, noting that innovation is needed in carbon sequestration, direct carbon capture, and integrating renewables into the electrical grid, among other areas.

“There’s no silver bullet,” said Anderson. “But I think that makes the problem interesting, and there’s a lot of room for creative people from various backgrounds to contribute.”

The Need for Greater Equity
The harmful impacts of climate change are not being distributed equally, and Anderson stressed the importance of equity in responding to climate change. “I believe in equity and quality of life for all of our citizens, and underprivileged groups will suffer most from the impacts of climate change — and perhaps even from some of the methods to address climate change — so as engineers, we have to be cognizant of that problem.”

Bostick recalled working on a National Academies study for FEMA on urban flooding, a project that took the study committee to some major cities around the country. “One of the telling facts that came out of that was that people of color, the elderly, the poor and disadvantaged were affected a lot more by where they lived and the urban flooding that was occurring across America. And this was a real problem for a lot of people for a long time.”

Bostick stressed the importance of including the voices of people from disproportionately affected locations in discussions about responses to climate change, as well as strengthening STEM education for young people from these areas so that can be part of the discussions and the solutions when they grow up. He also pointed to the need to engage sociologists, psychologists, communicators, and educators along with engineers in addressing equity issues around infrastructure. “This is a challenge that is an interdisciplinary effort where we need a lot of hands on deck.”

Sara Frueh is Senior Writer & Media Officer at The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.