Airports in the united states are essential infrastructures that form the backbone of transportation in the country. Airports provide a fast and reliable transportation mode that can transit people and goods over long distances in a short time; As much as airports offer people the possibility of a quicker, safer, and reliable transportation mode. Airports also have disadvantageous factors that can pose severe damages to infrastructures in airports and the surrounding environment. This essay will dive into the negative impacts of standing water and stormwater on airports in the USA and the world. The essay will also focus on various methods that airports in the USA and worldwide have implemented to handle water hazards.
The availability of water facilitates the sustenance of life on this planet. Water can be used to fulfill many activities in an airport. One of these activities is the irrigation of vegetation such as flowers and trees around the airport. Also, water can be used in washrooms around airports. As much as water has its merits, it also has its demerits. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “all water resources at and near an airport, in the form of both surface water and contained runoff, are recognized as potential attractants to wildlife, thus pose hazards to aviation safety” (FAA, 2008).
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According to an analysis conducted on 40 airports by Federal Aviation, The Administration found approximately 6% of the land titled under these airports was covered by water. The research also found out that of all the 50 species of birds involved in bird-aircraft strikes, a minimum of 15 species of the birds has foraged and breeding ecologies primarily linked with water (Blackwell et al., 2013). Furthermore, the research also found out that the 15 species of birds were responsible for more than 50% of damaging strikes between 2000 and 2011 (FAA, 2011). The attraction of wildlife like birds as a result of still water poses an aviation hazard to airports.
Airports cover large tracts of land when they are constructed. Most of the land titled under airports is covered by pavements or tarmacked, resulting in many runoff waters in storms resulting from poor planning or lack of appropriate infrastructure to handle runoff water in storms. Flooding becomes inevitable. Flooding in airports results in unexpected disruptions to air traffic, further resulting in severe economic losses in passenger and cargo traffic. “As was evidenced in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines,” flooding resulting from stormwater from the storm led to the closure of all the region's airports (FAA, 2011). As a result of this closure, the delivery of relief supplies and medical assistance to all affected areas the storm struck was negatively impacted.
Stormwater that causes flooding in airports also damages airport infrastructures such as radars, communication networks, and landing lights; this results in unplanned expenses. In 2016, the UK Environment Agency made a publication on a non-technical report on the 2013-2014 flooding of southern England and Wales. The agency reported two airports’ flooding, Gatwick and Shoreham. The flood resulted in damages to electrical systems supplying Gatwick's North Terminal, which resulted in cancelling of over 70 leaving and arriving flights. Furthermore, the flood had severe economic impacts as the report estimated that more than 3 million euros stood to be lost throughout the flooding.
Runoff water from airports is known to compose chemical pollutants that may pose serious health risks to people and the surrounding environment. Deicing chemicals, usually applied to runways and pavements around the airport during winter, are significant contributors to water sources' pollution around airports. Chronic leakage of aviation fuels and contaminants brought about from routine aircraft maintenance is another agent of pollution. These Pollutants have severe health results in human health. People have reported experiencing severe acute pains and unexplained allergic reactions from getting into contact with contaminated water. Furthermore, contaminated water from airports, which flows into natural water bodies like rivers, has depleted vital nutrients in these water bodies. The depletion of vital nutrients has resulted in the death of aquatic animals and plants.
Governments have resolved to form bodies responsible for overseeing the implementation of safety measures in airports worldwide. These bodies are responsible for ensuring that airports are made and maintained to reach set safety regulations as safety is the main underlying goal of any airport. In the US, the FAA is responsible for performing such duties.
Handling of runoff water and other water hazards are site-specific to individual airports. For proper water handling practices, factors like runoff volume, pick flow, and water quality objectives must be considered to identify the most suitable and efficient way to deal with water hazards for a specific airport. Construction of infrastructures such as dry detention ponds and retention ponds can ensure the significant collection of storm runoff water and further facilitate the treatment of runoff water to rid it of pollutants like deicing chemicals (Switzenbaum et al., 2001). Furthermore, the conversion of suitable unused land within the airport to lagoons facilitates glycol-based fluid waste collection.
As discussed earlier, wildlife like birds in which flock retention ponds can adversely affect aviation traffics. Due to such animals posing as potential hazards, airports have sought to implement the installation of synthetic covers, floating covers, nettings, or wire grids. Overhead wires laid out in various arrangements have been able to repel a variety of bird species. However, the efficiency of such infrastructure is site-specific. At Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan, the installation of parallel steel wires effectively repelled most know birds like the Canadian geese, gulls, and mute swans, which used the airport containment ponds.
The construction of aerated gravel beds, popularly known as subsurface flow wetlands, is another alternative in controlling stormwater as they are easy to construct, operate, and maintain. At the Air Express Airport in Wilmington, Ohio, subsurface flow wetlands were constructed and were found to be effective in managing storm and runoff water in the airport (Higgins & Liner, 2007). These wetlands have an advantage over conventional retention ponds as they are underground; thus, they do not attract wildlife.
Improving infiltration around airports can prove advantageous in the control of runoff water. The building of infrastructures such as infiltrations trenches, porous pavements, and rain gardens can allow for the quick percolation of water to the soil's sub-layers. Infiltration trenches are mostly viewed as underground injection control devices as they can collect, temporarily store, and adequately allow for infiltration of stormwater and runoff to groundwater. Porous pavements contain a high number of voids within the cemented aggregate. These pavements allow for the temporary storage of surface runoff and the fast drainage of still water into the soil. Porous pavements are very useful in regularly used airport packing areas and service roads. Such pavements are not approved to be laid on aircraft maneuvering and parking areas due to weight concerns (FAA, 2009).
Collecting runoff water can economically bring down costs related to irrigating plants that cover the land surrounding airports. In areas that receive huge downpour during warmer, drier months, such as the Midwest and southeastern parts of the USA, infrastructure such as rain-barrels can be built to collect substantial runoff for irrigation. Enacting green roofs, which cover a roof with vegetation, can have beneficial effects in controlling the high volume of rooftop runoff (Velazquez, 2005). Furthermore, these roof types reduce the urban heat island effect and put an overall cap on airport buildings' energy requirements by reducing ventilation and air conditioning requirements inside airport buildings such as a terminal.
To effectively handle any possibilities that can lead to flooding of an airport. Authorities have resolved in the development of infrastructures, such as flood barriers. Such barriers can be very beneficial in airports located close to water bodies such as rivers or lakes. Such kinds of water bodies can break their banks during heavy storms resulting in floods. The development of dykes around airports near water bodies also helps prevent floods that occur due to high tides from the sea or ocean. Kansai international airport in Osaka, Japan, is an example of an airport that faces the constant threat of flooding due to ocean water. Land used in the airport's construction was initially reclaimed from the sea; thus, engineers designed huge dykes to ensure the ocean's reclaimed land would not encroach.
Various airports in the USA have been established near water treatment plants. These plants are set up to treat water that contains pollutants like deicing chemicals that result from runways, aviation fuel from spills, and oil that results from routine maintenance of airplanes. The treated water can be pumped into surrounding water bodies like rivers and lakes where the airport is near one. Some of the water can be recycled and channeled back to the airport's water supply to be supplied into washrooms and terminals around the port. From this essay, it can be understood that water can be useful in airports, although it can be hazardous. Stagnant and running water have destructive capabilities resulting in unplanned expenses. By building various infrastructures such as retention ponds, porous pavements, and dykes, the hazards water possesses to airports worldwide can be contained and managed.
References
Blackwell, B. F., Felstul, D., & Seamans, T. W. (2013). Managing airport stormwater to reduce attraction to wildlife.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2008). Management of airport industrial waste. Advisory Circular lS0/S320-1SA. US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, USA.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2009). Airport pavement design and evaluation. Advisory Circular 1S/S320-6E. US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, USA.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2011). FAA wildlife strike database. http://wildlife-mitigation.tc.faa.gov/wildlife/default.aspx.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2012). Airport design. Advisory Circular150/5300·13A. US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, USA.
Higgins, J., & Liner, M. (2007). Engineering runoff solutions. Airport Business , 21 (3), 22-25.
Martin, J. A., Belant, J. L., DeVault, T. L., Blackwell, B. F., Burger Jr, L. W., Riffell, S. K., & Wang, G. (2011). Wildlife risk to aviation: a multi-scale issue requires a multi-scale solution. Human-Wildlife Interactions , 5 (2), 198-203.
Velazquez, L. S. (2005, May). European Airport Greenroofs: A Potential Model for North America. In Third Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Trade Show .
Switzenbaum, M. S., Veltman, S., Mericas, D., Wagoner, B., & Schoenberg, T. (2001). Best management practices for airport deicing stormwater. Chemosphere , 43 (8), 1051-1062.
