Coastal cities in the U.S. like New York and Boston are at risk of being "inundated" by floods of untreated sewage, new research suggests.
The findings add to growing concerns the cities could be facing a public health crisis and emphasize an urgent need for effective interventions for water system management.
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From the mid-1850s, many of America's coastal communities were designed with a combined sewer system in which stormwater and sewage are collected in the same pipes. Normally these pipes are directed towards wastewater treatment facilities, but they can only carry so much at a time. As a result, during periods of heavy rain, some of this water overflows into natural bodies of water via a process known as combined sewer overflows, or CSOs.
What's more, when the levels in the receiving water bodies are high, these overflow gates can get stuck and can cause the sewage and waste water to back up and spill out onto the street or even into people's basements.
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While federal water policies have encouraged communities to upgrade their water infrastructure to take steps to curtail these overflows, climate change is expected to bring a whole new set of challenges for these already stressed water systems.
In a recent study, published in the Journal of Water Management Modeling, researchers from Drexel University in Philadelphia used detailed water models of flooding and sewer overflows in a flood-prone community in Camden, New Jersey, to predict how changing future climates might impact these water systems.
Using previous projections from the New York City Panel on Climate Change—which predict an "up to 30 percent" increase in annual precipitation in New York and surrounding areas by 2100—this model estimated a 21 percent to 66 percent increase in the volume of fluid that will need to pass through these waterways.
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The rising sea level is also expected to make it more difficult for these overflow systems to discharge into local water bodies, increasing the likelihood of street flooding and property damage.
While their model was used specifically to make predictions and recommendations for Camden, other coastal communities with these overflow systems—including Philadelphia, New York and Boston—may also be at risk.
The researchers added that their findings will be used to support the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) in developing futureproofing management strategies.
"It's exciting to work with them now on the development of solutions that can also reduce flooding and make Camden's neighborhoods more resilient to climate change," Franco Montalto, the professor in civil, architectural and environmental engineering at Drexel University who lead the study, said in a statement.
"Our modeling will support CCMUA as it develops multifunctional infrastructure strategies."
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