Practitioner perspectives on sea-level rise impacts on shallow groundwater: Implications for infrastructure asset management and climate adaptation

Abstract

Climate change is causing sea levels to rise, posing an unprecedented threat to coastal communities and infrastructure from coastal flooding and other hazards. The impact of sea-level rise on coastal shallow groundwater and subsequent impacts on infrastructure assets is a challenge that is not well understood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with infrastructure engineers, asset managers and climate adaptation scientists from city- to regional-scale government organisations to capture their understanding of shallow groundwater impacts and adaptation responses to these current and anticipated issues in New Zealand. The study shows that groundwater already poses challenges to infrastructure asset managers. These issues are saltwater intrusion, flooding, increased liquefaction hazard, vulnerability of stormwater, wastewater management, drainage systems and coastal protection and long-term planning and financing. Climate change and sea-level rise will exacerbate these current and future issues. A key issue is who will take responsibility for shallow groundwater management in the face of new challenges from growing climate risks. This study highlights current approaches to manage groundwater variability will continue to be applied in future adaptation strategies. Further, groundwater monitoring and infrastructure asset management approaches to adaptation are limited less by technical understanding and more by political and economic considerations.