Researchers warn of invisible groundwater threats to aging urban infrastructure in the journal Nature Cities – The University of Rhode Island

Report on Climate-Induced Groundwater Threats to Coastal Urban Infrastructure and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Introduction: Addressing Climate Action and Sustainable Cities (SDG 11, SDG 13)

A recent commentary in the scientific journal Nature Cities, co-authored by University of Rhode Island geosciences professor Christopher Russoniello, reports on significant threats to coastal urban infrastructure posed by climate change-induced groundwater rise. The findings highlight overlooked hazards that directly impact the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and underscore the urgent need for climate adaptation strategies as outlined in SDG 13 (Climate Action).

2.0 Identified Hazards and Impacts on Sustainable Infrastructure (SDG 6, SDG 9, SDG 11)

The report identifies three primary hazards that compromise the safety and sustainability of urban environments, impacting critical infrastructure and services.

• Water table rise: Elevated groundwater levels that threaten subsurface structures.
• Groundwater salinization: Intrusion of saltwater into freshwater aquifers, affecting water quality and material integrity.
• Compound man-made and climate-related changes: The combined effect of urban development and climate change on groundwater systems.

These hazards pose a direct threat to infrastructure essential for sustainable cities, thereby challenging the objectives of SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Affected systems include:

• Roads, sewers, and septic systems
• Buried gas and electric lines
• Building foundations
• Underground pipes and tanks vulnerable to corrosion

Furthermore, these threats can impair wastewater systems and render groundwater unsuitable for consumption, directly conflicting with the targets of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

3.0 Proposed Solutions and Monitoring for Resilient Infrastructure (SDG 9, SDG 11)

To mitigate these risks and build resilient infrastructure, the report suggests a series of proactive measures and advanced monitoring techniques.

1. Material and Design Adaptation: Incorporate corrosion-resistant pipes and concrete reinforcements in high-risk areas.
2. Water Management Systems: Enhance subsurface drainage or dewatering systems to manage rising water tables.
3. Strategic Water Extraction: Design pumping well placement and extraction schedules to limit salinization and water rise.

Effective monitoring is crucial for implementing these solutions. Recommended strategies include the use of geophysical surveys and multilevel wells equipped with electrical conductivity and water pressure sensors to track groundwater level and salinity dynamics.

4.0 Collaborative Research: A Model for Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)

The report highlights an ongoing multi-state research collaboration, supported by an NSF EPSCoR grant, as a practical application of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The project involves a team of social scientists, groundwater experts, and engineers studying flooding in Warren, Rhode Island. This interdisciplinary approach aims to integrate community concerns with scientific data to develop viable adaptation strategies, demonstrating a holistic model for addressing complex climate challenges.

5.0 Recommendations for Future Action

The findings serve as a call to action for policymakers, urban planners, and engineers. To advance coastal urban resilience in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, the following steps are recommended:

• Update municipal guidelines, building codes, and material standards to account for changing groundwater conditions.
• Develop and implement both nature-based and hard engineering solutions for infrastructure protection.
• Launch new, integrated research programs that combine urban planning, social science, environmental science, civil engineering, and hydrogeology to improve prediction and prevention of groundwater-related hazards.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   The article connects to SDG 6 by highlighting threats to water quality and sanitation systems. It explicitly states that groundwater rise and salinization can “impair wastewater systems” like sewers and septic systems, and “render groundwater unsuitable for drinking.” This directly relates to ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   This is a central theme of the article. The focus is on the vulnerability of “aging urban infrastructure” to climate-related groundwater changes. The text lists affected infrastructure, including “roads, sewers, and septic systems; buried gas and electric lines; and building foundations.” The call for solutions such as “corrosion-resistant pipes,” “enhanced subsurface drainage,” and “updated guidelines, codes and materials” points directly to the need for building resilient infrastructure.

3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   The article’s entire context is the threat that groundwater rise poses to “coastal cities” and “urban communities.” It underscores the “critical need for better monitoring and solutions to ensure safe and sustainable urban environments.” By addressing hazards that impact urban infrastructure and living conditions, the article directly relates to making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

4. SDG 13: Climate Action

   The article identifies “climate change” and rising sea levels as the root cause of the groundwater rise problem. The research and proposed solutions are framed as responses to climate-related hazards. The call to “strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity” to these threats, as mentioned in the call for “updated guidelines, codes and materials that improve coastal urban infrastructure resilience,” aligns perfectly with taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   The article highlights the importance of collaboration to address this complex issue. It describes a “multi-state collaboration” supported by an NSF EPSCoR grant. It further emphasizes this by stating, “We have social scientists, groundwater experts, and engineers all working collaboratively together.” The call for “new research programs that involve urban planning, social science, environmental science, civil engineering, material science, coastal science and hydrogeology” reinforces the need for multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve sustainable development.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

• Target 6.3: Improve water quality

  The article addresses this target by discussing the threat of “groundwater salinization,” which degrades water quality, and how rising groundwater can “impair wastewater systems,” potentially leading to pollution.

• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure

  This target is directly addressed through the article’s focus on the vulnerability of urban infrastructure (roads, sewers, pipes, foundations) and the call for solutions to improve “coastal urban infrastructure resilience to changing groundwater.”

• Target 11.5: Reduce the impact of water-related disasters

  Groundwater rise is presented as a slow-onset, water-related disaster threatening coastal cities. The research aims to understand and mitigate these “invisible groundwater threats” to reduce the potential damage and economic losses to urban infrastructure.

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards

  The article is fundamentally about adapting to a climate-related hazard. The entire research effort and the proposed solutions, such as new materials and drainage systems, are aimed at strengthening the resilience of coastal cities to the impacts of climate change, specifically groundwater rise.

• Target 17.16: Enhance multi-stakeholder partnerships

  The article provides a concrete example of this target in action by describing the research project as a “multi-state collaboration” and a team of “social scientists, groundwater experts, and engineers all working collaboratively together.”

Indicators for Measuring Progress

• Monitoring Groundwater Levels and Salinity

  The article explicitly suggests indicators for tracking the problem. It mentions opportunities to “monitor groundwater levels and salinity dynamics by using geophysical surveys and multilevel wells instrumented with electrical conductivity and water pressure sensors.” These measurements provide direct data to assess the extent of the hazard and the effectiveness of interventions.

• Adoption of Resilient Infrastructure Standards

  Progress towards resilience can be measured by the development and implementation of “updated guidelines, codes and materials.” An indicator would be the number of municipalities or the percentage of new construction projects in coastal areas that adopt these new, more resilient standards, such as the use of “corrosion-resistant pipes or concrete reinforcement.”

• Establishment of Collaborative Research Programs

  The article implies that progress can be measured by the formation of partnerships. An indicator would be the number of “new research programs that involve urban planning, social science, environmental science, civil engineering, material science, coastal science and hydrogeology” that are launched to address these issues, as called for in the text.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: uri.edu