Regional sector 6: Infrastructure

Climate EffectInfrastructure sector - climate risk statementsIncrease in extreme heat days

Climate Effect Infrastructure sector - climate risk statements
Increase in extreme heat days (>40 degree C) An increase in the number of extreme heat days could lead to:
  • Impacts on infrastructure performance – all types
  • Disruption to services critical to emergency management such as telecommunication services
  • Impact on energy network assets, leading to reduced or disrupted infrastructure performance and brown-outs or black-outs
  • Impact on energy network assets, leading to reduced or disrupted infrastructure performance and brown-outs or black-outs, leading to increased energy costs and stress/hardship to industry and the community
  • Exposure (and heating) of transport and utility infrastructure servicing assets, resulting in loss of power and service provisions to water and wastewater assets and, an increase in the number of environmental and safety/health related incidents
  • Exposure of transport and utility infrastructure servicing assets to heating, resulting in railway track buckling / road rutting / bridge expansion joint cracking, subsequently causing transport delays and/or safety incidents
  • Higher rate of deterioration of buildings and built assets resulting in higher maintenance costs for roofing, cladding, window and other systems
  • Disruption to the functioning of lagoon-based sewerage treatment plants
Increase in severity of precipitation events An increase in the severity of precipitation events could lead to
  • Localised flooding, resulting in inundation infrastructure and increased maintenance and repair costs
  • Localised flooding resulting in inundation infrastructure and disruption to services
  • Localised flooding, resulting in inundation damage/blocking of drainage sewerage systems and contamination of waterways
Decrease in mean precipitation A decrease in mean precipitation could lead to:
  • Pressures on main water supplies for towns and some rural areas pressures on water supplies for non-reticulated areas
  • Competition for scarce water supply between residents and businesses
  • Reduction in environmental flows and impacts on infrastructure integrity and performance (drainage pipes crack in low flows) causing increased maintenance and upgrade costs
  • Reduction in environmental flows and damage to road infrastructure including the Great Ocean Road (increase in linear cracking)
  • Increased risk of landslides and increased costs to upgrade and maintenance costs infrastructure
Rising sea levels Rising sea levels and coastal inundation could lead to:
  • Coastal inundation and Increase in tidal prisms and a reduction in intertidal areas, creating higher tidal and wave energies, resulting in the erosion of coastal assets
  • Increase in tidal prisms and a reduction in intertidal areas, creating higher tidal and wave energies, resulting in the erosion of coastal assets
  • Coastal inundation could lead to the loss and damage to heritage items (e.g. The Breakwater- Warrnambool)
  • Coastal inundation could lead to affects on roads, affecting access and egress issues and the reduction in transport routes across the Region (especially along the Great Ocean Road)
  • Inundation of coastal landfill (disused) and a pollution threat
  • Inundation of coastal aquifers and impacts on water supply
  • Inundation of septic tanks, resulting in pollution
  • More frequent and higher storm surges, resulting in flood damage to coastal assets (including marinas and boat ramps) and higher maintenance/replacement costs
  • More frequent and higher storm surges, resulting in changes to infrastructure needs in coastal areas (redundancy in retreat areas and new servicing need in new areas).
Other climate variables (combined)
  • Short-duration droughts could lead to higher pressure on urban water resources, resulting in increased need for alternative water supplies such as wastewater recycling
  • An increase in frequency and severity of storms could lead to the higher exposure of electricity and communications infrastructure to rain/wind/lightning, resulting in increased stresses and damage to power lines, pylons, radio masts and mobile phone masts

Table 23: Climate risk statements – infrastructure

Regional sector 5: Council assets and services

Appendix 5 - Process for prioritising regional projects

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