Sea Level Rise and Infrastructure in American Sāmoa
Assessing Sea level Rise Induced Groundwater Inundation Effects on Coastal Infrastructure in American Sāmoa
One of the greatest challenges for Pacific island nations in the near future will be dealing with the impacts of sea level rise on coastal infrastructure. In island settings, reduction of the subsurface unsaturated zone as a consequence of increased sea levels can cause critical effects, such as nuisance flooding or inundation of buried infrastructure including electrical lines, municipal water lines and wastewater collection systems. Numerical groundwater models are important tools for prioritizing and assessing risks to this infrastructure. However, modeling efforts are often subject to limitations in input data and the ability to handle aquifer heterogeneities. In American Sāmoa, geospatial data of buried infrastructure exist, but need consolidation and quality assessment. PI Chris Shuler and his team will develop required datasets and perform modeling analyses needed to better understand the effects of sea level rise on buried infrastructure in a targeted area of American Sāmoa.
The approach will include collecting as-built data of buried utilities where available, including water lines, sewers, electrical infrastructure, and on-site disposal systems. The best available elevation data will be used to perform a preliminary risk analysis through intersections of buried infrastructure and inundation thresholds at current and projected sea levels. Then, in a selected village, the existing University of Hawaiʻi – American Sāmoa Power Authority groundwater modeling framework will be applied to predict the impacts of local groundwater gradients on compounding sea level rise effects. Finally, potential effects of land-based groundwater inundation flooding will be also assessed.
Draft figure of modeled water table elevations in selected villages within Pago Pago Harbor.
Research Team Chris Shuler – University of Hawaiʻi
Aly Ek-Kadi – University of Hawaiʻi Wallon Young – American Sāmoa Power Authority Casey Tebeest – American Sāmoa Power Authority, University of Hawaiʻi
Partners American Sāmoa Power Authority and American Sāmoa Environmental Protection Agency.
Resilient and sustainable Pacific Island communities using climate information to manage risks and support practical decision-making about climate variability and change.
Sea Level Rise and Infrastructure in American Sāmoa
Assessing Sea level Rise Induced Groundwater Inundation Effects on Coastal Infrastructure in American Sāmoa
One of the greatest challenges for Pacific island nations in the near future will be dealing with the impacts of sea level rise on coastal infrastructure. In island settings, reduction of the subsurface unsaturated zone as a consequence of increased sea levels can cause critical effects, such as nuisance flooding or inundation of buried infrastructure including electrical lines, municipal water lines and wastewater collection systems. Numerical groundwater models are important tools for prioritizing and assessing risks to this infrastructure. However, modeling efforts are often subject to limitations in input data and the ability to handle aquifer heterogeneities. In American Sāmoa, geospatial data of buried infrastructure exist, but need consolidation and quality assessment. PI Chris Shuler and his team will develop required datasets and perform modeling analyses needed to better understand the effects of sea level rise on buried infrastructure in a targeted area of American Sāmoa.
The approach will include collecting as-built data of buried utilities where available, including water lines, sewers, electrical infrastructure, and on-site disposal systems. The best available elevation data will be used to perform a preliminary risk analysis through intersections of buried infrastructure and inundation thresholds at current and projected sea levels. Then, in a selected village, the existing University of Hawaiʻi – American Sāmoa Power Authority groundwater modeling framework will be applied to predict the impacts of local groundwater gradients on compounding sea level rise effects. Finally, potential effects of land-based groundwater inundation flooding will be also assessed.
Research Team
Chris Shuler – University of Hawaiʻi
Aly Ek-Kadi – University of Hawaiʻi
Wallon Young – American Sāmoa Power Authority
Casey Tebeest – American Sāmoa Power Authority, University of Hawaiʻi
Partners
American Sāmoa Power Authority and American Sāmoa Environmental Protection Agency.
References
Habel, S., Fletcher, C. H., Rotzoll, K., & El-Kadi, A. I. (2017). Development of a model to simulate groundwater inundation induced by sea-level rise and high tides in Honolulu, Hawaii. Water Research, 114, 122-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.02.035
Shuler, C.K., and K.E. Mariner. 2020. Collaborative groundwater modeling: Open-source, cloud-based, applied science at a small-island water utility scale. Environmental Modelling & Software 127:104693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104693
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Resilient and sustainable Pacific Island communities using climate information to manage risks and support practical decision-making about climate variability and change.
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