Emerson Botts “Confluence” – 2026 Finalist

Emerson Botts – “Confluence”

Pittsburgh, PA

Division I: 14–18 Years Old

Oil on canvas

My piece, “Confluence,” depicts a sweat-covered woman staring at my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Reflected in her sunglasses is a flooded cityscape under stormy skies. Boats drift through rising water, suggesting a future shaped by climate change and a population struggling to adapt. Though the city around her is submerged, I wanted the woman to appear strong and defiant, refusing to be overwhelmed.

Pittsburgh sits at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. These rivers are a scenic backdrop and a source of recreation, central to the city’s identity as the “City of Bridges.” However, as climate change brings heavier and more frequent rainfall, they will shift from highlight to risk.

A lot of Pittsburgh’s infrastructure was designed for historical rainfall patterns, not today’s intense downpours. The region’s combined sewer system, where stormwater and wastewater share pipes, can exceed capacity during storms. Even a small amount of rain can trigger overflows, flooding streets and homes, displacing the unhoused, and releasing untreated sewage into the rivers. Climate projections estimate an 8% increase in annual precipitation by 2050, widening the gap between system capacity and rainfall volume.

Our city’s steep hillsides and extensive pavement with limited greenspace accelerate runoff, worsening flash flooding in low-lying neighborhoods. The city must continue to invest in sewer upgrades, green infrastructure such as rain gardens and permeable pavement, and hillside stabilization to prevent climate-driven rainfall from further outpacing existing systems.