Abstract
Much of the United States’ critical infrastructure is either aging or requires significant repair, leaving U.S. communities and the economy vulnerable. Outdated and dilapidated infrastructure places coastal communities, in particular, at risk from the increasingly frequent and intense coastal storm events and rising sea levels. Therefore, investments in coastal infrastructure are urgently needed to ensure community safety and prosperity; however, these investments should not jeopardize the ecosystems and natural resources that underlie economic wealth and human well-being. Over the past 50 years, efforts have been made to integrate built infrastructure with natural landscape features, often termed “green” infrastructure, in order to sustain and restore valuable ecosystem functions and services. For example, significant advances have been made in implementing green infrastructure approaches for stormwater management, wastewater treatment, and drinking water conservation and delivery. However, the implementation of natural and nature-based infrastructure (NNBI) aimed at flood prevention and coastal erosion protection is lagging. There is an opportunity now, as the U.S. government reacts to the recent, unprecedented flooding and hurricane damage and considers greater infrastructure investments, to incorporate NNBI into coastal infrastructure projects. Doing so will increase resilience and provide critical services to local communities in a cost-effective manner and thereby help to sustain a growing economy.
Highlights
Infrastructure in the United States—including roads, bridges, dams, levees, sewer and stormwater systems, and other built structures—is vital to the nation’s security, economy, health, and safety [1]
As part of the Executive Order 13693, “Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Decade,” federal agencies are required to install “appropriate green infrastructure features on federally owned property to help with stormwater and wastewater management.”
A changing climate coupled with increasing levels of natural hazards has exacerbated the risks associated with aging built infrastructure and reduced the life expectancy of existing and future built structures along coastlines
Summary
Infrastructure in the United States—including roads, bridges, dams, levees, sewer and stormwater systems, and other built structures—is vital to the nation’s security, economy, health, and safety [1]. By 2020, up to 70% of U.S dams will be over 50 years old [1] Recent infrastructure failures, such as the Oroville Dam spillway collapse and the catastrophic flooding in Houston during Hurricane Harvey, demonstrate the significant consequences of failing to address our nation’s crumbling and outdated built infrastructure [2]. Built infrastructure (e.g., dams, undersized culverts, seawalls, and water-diverting levees and canals) has resulted in significant declines in the abundance of aquatic organisms (e.g., economically valuable anadromous fish species) and the diversity of key habitats, such as the Florida Everglades [4,5,6,7,8,9] This infrastructure has resulted in flood-related human fatalities and property damage when it has failed [10,11]. The lessons learned from these events suggest that investment in NNBI solutions has the potential to reduce coastal erosion, limit damage to public and private properties, and prevent flooding of coastal communities
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