According to Rob Moore, a water and climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, about 25 percent of the flood plain area in the country is now covered with cement, dramatically increasing the potential for flash flooding events, even without more intense storms. And these damaging downpours are only expected to increase for the Northeast, one of the most paved — an thus least able to cope — areas in the nation, in the coming decades.
Ironically, the region expected to see the greatest increase in extreme precipitation events, is also the region with some of the most decrepit infrastructure for handling water. Almost every major city in the Northeast region, including New York City, Boston and Philadelphia, has combined sewer systems — so the same pipes that handle wastewater also have to cope with stormwater — something they are increasingly unable to do as downpours become more intense.
When these systems back up, it not only exacerbates the flash flooding problem, it also means people can be exposed to dangerous pathogens in sewage water.
Moore says that while cities figure out how to pay for upgrading their sewer systems and work on expanding green infrastructure, like permeable pavement, rain gardens and green roofs, there’s something very simple that Northeast residents can do to help protect against flash flooding.
“Use less water,” said Moore. “That seems odd when we’re talking about an area where the problem may be too much water, but if households use less water, that’s less water going into the combined sewer systems and it reduces the chance of overflow when we do get hit with a big storm.”
Not Just Sea Level Rise: Northeast Faces Flooding From the Skies
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