Preventing Urban Flooding: How Cities are Upgrading Sewer Maintenance Systems

May 5, 2026

Urban flooding, which occurs when city landscapes cannot absorb excessive water from extreme weather events, is becoming an increasingly serious threat as flash flood warnings hit record levels in 2025. Smart cities are now implementing innovative solutions combining artificial intelligence-powered monitoring systems, gray infrastructure like traditional sewer systems, and green infrastructure such as rain gardens to prevent flooding disasters. Contributing factors to urban flooding include impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt, inadequate drainage systems, and the 15% average increase in hourly rainfall intensity experienced by most U.S. cities since 1970.

Who is affected

144 U.S. cities analyzed by Climate Central (126 experiencing increased rainfall intensity)
Residents (humans and animals) in smart cities implementing these solutions
Public, government, and professionals in flood-prone areas
Owners of personal, commercial, industrial, government, and public properties
Sewer maintenance workers
Cities with low-lying topographies, coastal locations (specifically mentioned: San Diego, CA), extensive impervious surfaces, and high populations

What action is being taken

Smart cities are using AI-powered smart monitoring technologies for weather anomaly detection and flood prediction
Cities are identifying high-risk and maintenance priority areas in sewer systems
Smart cities are combining gray infrastructure (engineered systems) with green infrastructure (nature-based systems)
Cities are using more powerful drain maintenance equipment, like Vactor sewer cleaning trucks
Smart cities are analyzing drainage systems in their jurisdictions using monitors, sensors, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Why it matters

Urban flooding prevention is increasingly crucial because extreme precipitation events are becoming more intense and frequent, with the United States exceeding 5,000 flash flood warnings for the first time in 2025. Without adequate mitigation strategies, urban flooding causes severe damage to infrastructure and various types of properties, and poses deadly threats to human and animal life. By implementing innovative technologies and infrastructure solutions, cities can reduce flood damage risk, optimize resource allocation, protect lives and property, and better manage the challenges posed by climate change and aging infrastructure.

What's next

City officials can put more funding into increasing drainage system capacity
Cities can replace aging infrastructure
Cities can ensure adequate maintenance of drainage systems
The public, government, and professionals can take mitigatory steps when high-risk areas are identified (including evacuating vulnerable zones, deploying emergency response teams, and reinforcing flood-prone infrastructure)

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint