Two recent articles discuss the effects of extreme heat and storms and intense floods on U.S. infrastructure, pointing to events this summer as examples, and the particular challenges they pose to critical infrastructure.

Some of the examples referenced in the articles include the recent extreme heat wave that stressed the California power grid and the water emergency in Jackson, Mississippi, which was triggered by heavy precipitation that led to flooding in the area. While climate change has had a role in these events, to include by increasing their intensity and duration, the article authors also observe that much of U.S. critical infrastructure hasn’t been sufficiently maintained and is not resilient. Taking into account the state of the infrastructure and the fact that it was built for previous, pre-climate change conditions, they implore owners and operators and policy makers to invest in upgrading systems to make them resilient. With state and local governments often challenged to provide the full funding to cover these upgrades, the federal government can play a role. They note recently passed federal legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), will help. One of the articles recalls a case in which the Economic Development Administration gave a water treatment plant in Greenville, North Carolina flooded in 1999’s Hurricane Floyd $5 million to protect its facility with a new berm. When Hurricane Matthew struck in 2016, the water treatment plant survived and saved Greenville over $150 million – 30 times as much as the cost to protect it. Without more transformative changes like this, incidents like the ones the nation witnessed this summer will be just part of a continuum of an escalating trend. Read more at the Conversation and the University of Colorado.