Note

flooding, waterlogging, sedimentation, or even sand dune movement. Yet this influence can also be inverted; roads should contribute to better environmental management, beneficial water management, and climate resilience.1 These approaches may often reduce road asset management costs and the risk of road disruption.

The consultants shall investigate and report on the potential beneficial contributions of roads to environmental management and water use, and identify measures required to use the potential of roads-for-water management to benefit communities.

In fulfillment of their assignment, the consultants shall (a) take the above general considerations into account in the general conduct of their inquiries, reporting, recommendations, and designs; and (b) consider and report on the following three areas, in particular:

(1) Identify measures in road and bridge infrastructure designs that can optimize roads’ contribution to the environment and water resource management, access to water, and climate resilience. This can be the placing of culverts and road drainage so as to optimize runoff patterns for water harvesting, the optimizing of road embankment heights and overflow structures for flood management, the systematic conversion of borrow pits for water storage, the development of road drifts that retain and store water in the riverbed, the use of road embankments as dam walls for water storage, the gating of road culverts for the control of water level, the inclusion of water bars and rolling dips in feeder roads to divert water to surrounding fields and prevent road erosion, the inclusion of flood shelters in road infrastructure, and the aligning of road routes to control sand dune movement and to optimize recharge and water-harvesting areas. (2) Identify (and appraise) measures that would enable roads and bridges to contribute to sustainable environmental management and beneficial water use. These measures can include additional activities to channel water from road drainage for use in water harvesting; roadside tree planting, improving range- or pasture-lands, or beneficial bioengineering programs; measures that reduce the risk of erosion, stabilize fragile environments, maintain natural hydrology, and minimize hydrological integration; and others. (3) Identify (and appraise) the additional institutional activities required to better integrate beneficial water management and proactive environmental management into road programs. These activities may be in the form of modification to manuals and guidelines, changed budgeting systems or improved consultation and coordination processes, revised maintenance arrangements, special workshops and training, or pilot activities or modeling.

NOTE

1. for resource material, see www.roadsforwater.org.