Climate Change – Placentia Flood Wall

Authors

  • alana earle

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate change has become a major growing concern in today's society. Climate change also presents profound risk to the integrity of numerous engineered systems and in turn, the global public safety. According to the Canadian Code of Ethics “engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and the protection of the environment.” Therefore, engineers must assure that existing public infrastructure is capable of withstanding the impacts of climate change. Established by French colonies in 1963, Placentia is located on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula and on the east coast of Placentia Bay. With a, currently rising, population of approximately 4,000 residents the region is the site of present and planned petroleum refineries as well as the soon to be locale for processing ore from the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper-cobalt plant. Unfortunately, due to the regions low lying location on a flood plain adjacent to the sea the town of Placentia has been face with serious flooding in the past. As a result, is 1993 a sheet pile floodwall structure running parallel to the main beach was constructed. The sheet pile wall is intended to protect the downtown portion of the community from flooding. However, due to present concerns surrounding climate change the question arises whether or not this form of infrastructure is vulnerable to the effects of intensified weather events. Catastrophic failure of the floodwall would flood much of the downtown Placentia. The following paper will highlight the history of flooding concerns in Placentia and the effects of specific aspects of climate change on the sheet pile flood wall. These aspects include; sea level rise, wind assisted surge waves, and intense rainfall events. The engineering requirements to address such effects will also be presented.

References

Online Compact Oxford Engish Dictionary, “Infrastructure” Internet: http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/infrastructure, March 11, 2013 [accessed March 7, 2013]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007”, Internet: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms1.html, [accessed March 7, 2013]

Engineers Canada, “Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) ”, Internet: http://www.pievc.ca/, August 2005 [accessed January 13, 2013]

Flood Site, “Coastal Flooding”, Internet: http://www.floodsite.net/juniorfloodsite/html/en/teacher/thingstoknow/hydrology/coastalfloods.html, 2008 [accessed February 21, 2013]

Memorial University of Newfoundland, “Newfoundland Heritage – Coastal Flooding” Internet: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/c_flooding.html, 2000 [accessed January 15, 2013]

Town of Placentia, “History of Placentia” Internet: http://www.placentia.ca/, 2013 [accessed January 15, 2013]

Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee, “Town of Placentia, Newfoundland, Water Resources Infrastructure”, http://www.pievc.ca/e/casedocs/placentia/Town%20of%20Placentia_Newfoundland_Final%20Report.pdf, March 2008 [accessed January 13, 2013]

Memorial University of Newfoundland Department of Geography “The Coastline of Eastern Newfoundland”, http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/276332.pdf, 2003 [accessed February 21, 2013]

Downloads

Published

2013-04-09

Issue

Section

Coastal and Ocean Engineering (ENGI.8751)