Many rural communities are on the front lines of climate change. The need to understand who may be affected and when is widely acknowledged in order to enable inclusive and cost-effective adaptation planning. In this work, we explore the potential threat of sea-level rise on non-housing infrastructure (e.g., roads, septic systems) in rural, coastal areas to help inform the impact of their loss on local communities. I will present work that evaluates local accessibility loss during high tides for the entire US coastline (termed “risk of isolation”) for various climate change scenarios, and also preliminary evidence from research that suggests that the risk of septic system failures is quite significant in many coastal communities.

Dr. Allison Reilly is an associate professor at the University of Maryland in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the area of risk and infrastructure systems. Her research focuses on unpacking the dynamics between policy and infrastructure vulnerability. She has worked on problems in numerous infrastructure sectors including electric power, water distribution systems, septic systems, transportation systems, residential buildings, and cybersecurity. Much of her recent work has focused on risk equity within rural, coastal areas vulnerable to sea-level rise, and, related, how investments in infrastructure that are integrated within broader resilience strategies may enable more just transitions. She is the recipient of a 2022 NSF CAREER Award in the area of national disaster policy pertaining to infrastructure, and a 2019 NASEM Gulf Coast Research Early-Career Fellowship for her work on the impacts of sea-level rise on transportation infrastructure. Dr. Reilly holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University.

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