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infrastructure management and managing the potential impacts of climate change.
SA Water has signed a Climate Change Sector Agreement with the South
Australian Government. The sector agreement formalises SA Water’s commitment
to responding to the challenges of climate change.
Information Sources
SA Water website:
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FA1A6E9B9E89/0/SAWaterAnnualReport1011.pdf
10.6. Summary
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Major public assets in the Study Area include public housing (12,146 dwellings – state and
community owned), Queen Elizabeth Hospital, police stations (5), schools (97), roads and bridges
(42 km Federal Roads, 143 km State roads and 1,631 km Local roads), economic infrastructure
including Techport and Aquatic Sciences Centre, jetties (4) and boat ramps (3), Adelaide Shores,
water and sewerage infrastructure, waste transfer stations (2), stormwater infrastructure, community
centres (17), surf lifesaving clubs (5), local government assets including buildings, footpaths, roads,
playgrounds, aged accommodation, and parks and gardens.
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Likely climate change impacts upon public infrastructure include higher operational costs (energy,
water and maintenance), unreliability of power and utilities, coastal erosion and loss of property,
changes in visitation patterns and utilisation, deterioration of marine structures/facilities,
deterioration of roads and bridges, and damage to buildings and structures from storms, heat,
flooding and inundation. Impacts are likely to be wide reaching across the Study Area due to the
spread of different public infrastructure and environmental settings.
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Some asset owners/managers have undertaken climate change adaptation planning, however more
work is needed to be undertaken across the wider public infrastructure sector, including addressing
specific knowledge gaps. A range of data gaps were identified. Should this data be accessible, it
will be important to ensure that it is presented consistently across Councils. Data gaps include:
Valuation of individual assets (disaggregated), that are consistently classified across each
council area. This includes public housing data, local government assets, region and
interregional-wide utility infrastructure.
Insurance levels for individual assets owned by public bodies.
Utilisation levels of assets to determine the social and economic importance of the asset to the
region, and indeed the potential impacts arising from damage from future climate change.
Sector/asset specific climate change impacts.
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Recommendations for subsequent stages of the WARCCAP project include:
Undertake more detailed analysis of public housing data and identification of risks. Relevant
stakeholders should include Housing SA, housing cooperatives and housing associations.
Investigate further the social and economic risks associated with heat wave impacts on road
and other transport infrastructure.
