By David R. Lutz, P.E., Vice President, Community Development Market Executive
NTH Consultants, Ltd.
NTH Consultants, Ltd.
California wildfires in the distance illuminate the Golden Gate bridge.
If the February 2021 “unusual” weather events in Texas drive home a salient point, it’s that the unusual should not be considered so unusual anymore. Whether it is the increased prevalence and magnitude of wildfires in the western United States and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, or, closer to home, devastating rainfall and flooding events that overwhelm aging dam and stormwater conveyance structures in Michigan, these unusual weather events are likely here to stay. If these events have shown us anything, it is that our communities are perilously close to one significant weather-related event away from disaster.
| As our partner Spackman, Mossop, Michaels experienced and lived through at their office location in New Orleans, Louisiana during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the disaster is not so much the weather-related event(s) of the hurricane and subsequent flooding, but in the failures of the community to be adequately prepared and engineered to handle a potential climate event. As Elizabeth Mossop detailed in her recent article, building resilient communities is not just about armoring, leveeing, and walling, but re-thinking our previous mindset for handling stormwater and floodwaters, taking advantage of more natural processes for management and conveyance. |  Streets are still washed out in the Old Algiers section of New Orleans after the major flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. |
Strategic placement of drainage containment structures, including parklands, that are naturally low-lying like that of Hines Park in Wayne County, Michigan, or large surface water features (e.g., ponds or lakes) can be utilized to mitigate extreme disruption to surrounding areas. Controlled and minimized flooding in designated areas to lessen the overall impact and benefit the surrounding community during extreme climate events is a path worth pursuing on a widespread basis.
 Unusual weather event with freezing temperatures and snow disrupted power in Houston and most of Texas | Similarly, as experienced in Texas, energy reliability is at the top of the list in making a more fortified community. System redundancy is key to ensuring that the inevitable disruption of service is minimized after a natural disaster, reducing long-term concerns and getting an area back on its feet quickly. Microgrids, which de-centralize power production and distribution to allow an area to isolate from the grid and be self-sufficient is one strategy for electrical system redundancy. Instead of large power generation stations and distribution networks, microgrids move to a more localized energy production system, minimizing large-scale disruptions in the event of significant power outages. For instance, Tesla, with their advancements in solar generation and Powerwall battery storage systems, are part of a microgrid solution. |
While renewable energy is largely considered a more sustainable, long-term solution for energy production, the key to reliability is redundant systems and methods of delivery. In Michigan, Line 5 across the Straits of Mackinac delivers petroleum products that currently meets 55% of statewide propane needs to heat Michigan homes. Plans currently underway to ensure a more secure delivery method by locating Line 5 in a bedrock tunnel beneath the Straits is meeting fierce political and environmental opposition for a variety of reasons. On February 20, 2021, Governor Whitmer declared an energy emergency, removing trucking restrictions to ensure home propane delivery by vehicle is not impeded. Our public policy should not minimize or reduce the means and methods of energy delivery to our communities, but instead focus on increasing energy reliability in cost-effective and environmentally conscientious ways.
Politics aside, whether you believe in the science of climate change or not, one fact remains relevant based on the recent trends of significantly disastrous weather-related events: We must actively pursue more thoughtful approaches to engineering and designing our communities and infrastructure to be better prepared to handle the now “usual” extreme events, integrating natural and built features to achieve more resilient and sustainable communities.
Politics aside, whether you believe in the science of climate change or not, one fact remains relevant based on the recent trends of significantly disastrous weather-related events: We must actively pursue more thoughtful approaches to engineering and designing our communities and infrastructure to be better prepared to handle the now “usual” extreme events, integrating natural and built features to achieve more resilient and sustainable communities.
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