How Weather Affects How We Think About Utilities
Storms, wind and temperatures can play an important factor in how we think about utility systems. Hurricanes have recently played a part in knocking out power for millions across the United States. Since utilities are built into the environment, utilities are extremely susceptible to damages from the elements when weather intensifies. How does weather affect how we think about utilities? How do you manage utilities affected by weather? There’s a whole system of utilities dedicated to just managing stormwater. Rainwater has to be transported and properly treated for reuse, captured by drains, grates and pipes. Stormwater management is an important but often overlooked aspect of modern infrastructure. When it comes to heavy rainfall, poor stormwater management can result in flooding, land erosion and contamination of waterways. Making sure stormwater systems can withstand excess water is key to keeping up with torrential downpours. When it comes to inspection, video pipe inspection and hydro jetting is a great way to make sure your sewers don’t have debris build-up that would cause a problem in a storm. Performing an inspection can also tell you where any cracks or penetrations could result in excess inflow & infiltration.
Weather often plays an important factor in the above ground vs below ground utility arguments. In 2006, Fort Collins, Colorado buried 100% of their power lines underground, citing heavy winds and snowstorms as the reason. You won’t find many utilities above ground in New York either — the late 1800’s and early 1900’s pushed most of the power lines underground citing safety concerns. On the other hand, having above ground utilities can be more cost effective for maintenance and are generally cheaper to install. On the other hand, having utilities underground is useful for concealing systems that may be complex and can avoid certain damages. There really isn’t a right or wrong answer to this argument: the elements can have an impact on both buried lines and utilities out in the open. Power lines are susceptible to heavy winds, floods, fires and impacts that can knock them down. Underground utilities can be affected by heavy floods and earthquakes. Ultimately, how utility companies decide to position their utilities may come down to geographic and climate factors.Temperatures also can have an effect on utilities. Heat can cause a strain on electrical grids and reduce efficiency as people use air conditioning to cool their homes. This can cause systems to fail as more and more people use the same electrical grid. The same goes for cold temperatures: heating your home can increase your utility bill. Notably, cold weather comes with the added issue of freezing. In February of 2021, snow and freezing temperatures caused water pipes to burst in Texas as they lacked the proper insulation to protect them. In colder climates, pipes are often surrounded by insulation, but this was not anticipated to be an issue in Texas. This week-long freezing resulted in the first billion dollar weather disaster of that year, damaging water systems and leaving many without power, resulting in an estimated 246 deaths.
Weather can be incredibly unpredictable. We can mitigate the effects of weather on utilities for keeping knowledge of existing systems, proper maintenance and preparing for emergency scenarios. Our team at Trinity Subsurface can help locate utilities and examine conditions in sewers that may lead to flooding in heavy storms. Find out more information on our various utility services through our website.
