Los Angeles’s Floods Show Why Sewers Matter: Recent atmospheric rivers are a preview of what will become much more common as climate change accelerates.
By BARC Staff | Date:
The recent atmospheric river storm events are a reminder that many urban stormwater systems are outdated for the expected future of more intense storms. Surface level climate adaptation measures like levees and sea walls are designed to withstand 50- or 100-year floods that have a small chance of occurring each year. But storm drain systems under most residential roads typically can only manage a 5- or 10-year event and suffer deferred maintenance. Flooded roads and communities will become more common until this infrastructure issue is prioritized. Read more in this article: https://newrepublic.com/article/178814/sewers-floods-california-climate by Dave Levitan for The New Republic.