I got waylaid today when a one-hour snow flurry stretched into four, grinding the airport to a halt. Most travelers took the disruption in stride, shrugging off the chaos and making the best of their upended schedules. The truth is, weather wields far more power over service delivery than most people realize.
Severe weather, like a drought, can test an infrastructure. Take what is happening in Colorado. (American Rivers)
It’s not one dry year that has placed the Colorado River and all who rely on it in peril; it’s decades of drought amplified by warming temperatures and a system still adjusting, or refusing to adjust, to the reality of a smaller river. The sponge is wrung dry, and we’re a long way from re-saturation. A “Miracle May” might be welcome, but it cannot erase two decades of declining flows and depleted reservoirs to save us at this point.
Aquifers are drained.
The system is being tested. This can be the impetus of a major infrastructure overhaul.
Or take an example of too much water. Flooding throughout the 1800s pressured the development of improved sewer systems.
Sanitation
- Sewage Backflow: Before the mid-1800s, London relied on approximately 200,000 cesspits and inadequate sewers that emptied into the Thames. Heavy rains caused these systems to overflow, sending a mixture of rainwater and raw sewage into the streets and the basements of low-lying houses.
- Contaminated Living Spaces: Neighborhoods near the river, such as Lambeth, faced frequent tidal floods. These floods left behind a “filthy mix of river water, mud, and sewage” in residences, creating a “fever-breeding atmosphere” that led to diseases like rheumatism and fever.
- Water Supply Pollution: The flooding of drainage ditches often polluted the very wells and water supplies Londoners relied on for drinking and washing.
Weather is unpredictable and indiscriminate. It can be the final straw for the cooperation necessary to tackle major infrastructure projects.
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