Climate change, and its impact on United States wastewater infrastructure already in need of significant repair investment, has longterm impact on the stability of wastewater management systems and our future as a society. Precipitation pattern changes, a rise in sea levels – all as a result of climate change – put the wastewater management infrastructure at risk.

In the United States, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the existing water infrastructure of wastewater treatment plants, stormwater collection systems and combined sewer systems were designed on the basis of past hydrologic records without consideration for changes in rainfall intensity and variability from climate change. That means water and wastewater utility systems were not built for the stresses of extreme rainfall — nor heat. They are at significant risk of failure.

The stress that climate change puts on wastewater infrastructure can be seen as weather events continue to gain momentum:

• During extreme flood events, wastewater systems need greater capacity to treat excess volumes and run the risk of increased contamination from high run off.
• Warmer temperatures and extended periods of drought can change the corrosion patterns of equipment critical to the wastewater process.
• The impact of climate change causes shifts in the earth, cracking and shifting pipelines.

Learn more about the EPA’s strategies on Climate Impacts on Water Utilities

t4 Vaults allows waste management operators to continually assess lines, share files with ease and effectively manage this data in a safe, cloud-based platform. Users simply drag and drop data into their desktop app to accurately track every inch of line stability over time. t4 Vault offers a free 30-day trial period to help operators see how the platform can enhance climate change efforts.

Learn more about t4 Spatial:
Phone: +1 805-921-3000
Support: support@t4spatial.com
Sales: mthompson@t4spatial.com