by Ganesh Sahathevan
NDR 2019: Singapore may build polders, dykes to protect eastern coastline from rising sea levels
In December 2021 MIT's Technology Review published an article under the headline
How rising groundwater caused by climate change could devastate coastal communities : Higher sea levels will push the water table up with them, causing flooding, contamination, and all manner of unseen chaos.
The gist of the story is this:
For something you’ve probably never heard about, rising groundwater presents a real, and potentially catastrophic, threat to our infrastructure. Roadways will be eroded from below; septic systems won’t drain; seawalls will keep the ocean out but trap the water seeping up, leading to more flooding. Home foundations will crack; sewers will backflow and potentially leak toxic gases into people’s homes.
Any coastal area where “the land is really flat, and the geology is [the kind of] loose material that water moves through really easily,” says (Kristina Hill, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley), is “where this is really going to be a problem.” This includes places like Miami, but also Oakland, California, and Brooklyn, New York. Silicon Valley communities like Mountain View are susceptible to groundwater rise, as is Washington, DC. Worldwide, the area at risk includes portions of northwestern Europe and coastal areas of the United Kingdom, Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.
Hydrologists are aware of the problem and it’s all over the scholarly research, but it has yet to surface in a significant way outside of those bubbles.
The Government Of Singapore has made climate change mitigation a priority and has estimated that a 100 Billion Singapore dollars will be required for mitigation initiatives which are to include Dutch style polders, sea walls, and raising coastal ground levels.
Nothing has been said about protecting the country and its vast underground network of commercial property , infrastructure including an extensive transport system from rising groundwater. Then again, contemplation of the problem may cause a revaluation of commercial and residential property values.
How rising groundwater caused by climate change could devastate coastal communities : Higher sea levels will push the water table up with them, causing flooding, contamination, and all manner of unseen chaos.
The gist of the story is this:
For something you’ve probably never heard about, rising groundwater presents a real, and potentially catastrophic, threat to our infrastructure. Roadways will be eroded from below; septic systems won’t drain; seawalls will keep the ocean out but trap the water seeping up, leading to more flooding. Home foundations will crack; sewers will backflow and potentially leak toxic gases into people’s homes.
Any coastal area where “the land is really flat, and the geology is [the kind of] loose material that water moves through really easily,” says (Kristina Hill, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley), is “where this is really going to be a problem.” This includes places like Miami, but also Oakland, California, and Brooklyn, New York. Silicon Valley communities like Mountain View are susceptible to groundwater rise, as is Washington, DC. Worldwide, the area at risk includes portions of northwestern Europe and coastal areas of the United Kingdom, Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.
Hydrologists are aware of the problem and it’s all over the scholarly research, but it has yet to surface in a significant way outside of those bubbles.
The Government Of Singapore has made climate change mitigation a priority and has estimated that a 100 Billion Singapore dollars will be required for mitigation initiatives which are to include Dutch style polders, sea walls, and raising coastal ground levels.
Nothing has been said about protecting the country and its vast underground network of commercial property , infrastructure including an extensive transport system from rising groundwater. Then again, contemplation of the problem may cause a revaluation of commercial and residential property values.
Ultimately Singapore residents will have to ask if their island can remain habitable.
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