Better Safe than Sorry 2016

Southern Maine Communities Taking Action to Prepare for Coastal Hazards

Overview

The Better Safe Than Sorry Partnership brings representatives from the ten southern Maine beach communities together to share their work and progress taking local action to prepare their communities for coastal storms and sea level rise. The group was convened by the Wells Reserve Coastal Training Program in 2015 with a goal of meeting annually to exchange ideas and approaches and look for ways to work together (read 2015 workshop overview here). During the time between annual updates the Coastal Training Program keeps members of the network informed of training, capacity building, and grant opportunities to support the work of the group.Below you will find summaries and links to the presentations.

Objectives

1. Participants will share and learn about projects taking place locally, regionally and throughout the state to safeguard people and community resources through planning and preparing for coastal hazards associated with climate change impacts.
2. Participants will share and learn practices communities use to incorporate climate adaptation into their planning processes.
3. Participants will identify or share barriers to implementing climate adaptation strategies in their communities.
4. Participants will learn about the effects of sea-level rise on groundwater levels in coastal New Hampshire and its impacts on coastal and inland infrastructure and discuss planning strategies for Maine.
5. Participants will evaluate whether continued collaboration to build capacity and take advantage of synergies in our work increases the resilience in the region.

Community Resilience Project Updates from around the State, Pete Slovinsky, DACF

View presentation here.

Highlights:

Cape Elizabeth has changed its shoreland zoning to no longer be Highest Annual Tide but Highest Astronomical Tide +3 feet. Lidar GPS can be used to get a definable line. Setback is at 14.6 feet. This number is locked in for 19 years, takes into account storm surge, wave inundation and splash over;

Georgetown developed a community-led, Climate Adaptation Report, led by their Conservation Commission. Preparedness, roads and infrastructure, impacts to local fishing economy and marsh migration planning were part of the plan. They engaged town leaders through a series of workshops to develop different chapters. The final plan was adopted by the town;

Damariscotta conducted an Adaptation Study for their downtown, did a detailed elevation analysis of structures, involved community input, the community is seeking funding to implement parking lot design (seawall, tide-gauge, raising parking lot, park);

Wiscasset and Boothbay are studying impacts of SLR on critical infrastructure; Developing bluff erosion hazard prediction model in Casco Bay, transferable to other regions;

Saco Watershed Drinking Water Resiliency Project is looking at 500 year floodplain to evaluate potential drinking water contamination from flooding.

North Atlantic Coastal Comprehensive Study $20M post Sandy effort to model northeast: 150 simulated tropical storms + 100 noreasters from historical record+ hydrogeological modeling = surge, wave, and tide and sea level rise  from NC to ME,  dataset can serve as best available data for engineering information available, better website coming soon, more info here.

Increasing Coastal Resiliency in Maine, Abbie Sherwin, Maine Coastal Program, DACF

View presentation here

Highlights: Abbie is leading a two year process developing a Community Resilience Index for Maine. This will include a vulnerability tool and self-assessment. The project aims to develop and facilitate a discussion process for communities.  They identified regional planning organizations (RPO) as best agency to deliver index. Abbie will pilot with a southern Maine community with SMPDC in the fall of 2016; Abbie reviewed the Community Rating System (CRS). She is interviewing communities now to learn about advantages and barriers to being in the program. Identified a need for someone at the RPO level to facilitate process. For example, Barnstable County in MA has 1 person dedicated to working with towns to enroll them in the National Flood Insurance Program CRS Program

Maines Adaptation Toolkit: A Gateway to Resiliency, Nathan Robbins, DEP

View presentation here.

Highlights:  Maine DEP developed a reference site for Maine-focused climate adaptation resources. The site is intended as a place where people can learn what communities all over the state are doing to prepare for impacts of flooding and sea level rise. The site is linked to current science on climate impacts in Maine. Focusing on what Maine can expect; what actions are currently in progress; and how people can get involved in their communities.

To be effective the Toolkit needs to include descriptions of what communities and organizations are doing. This of this as the online forum where communities talk about what they are doing to adapt to climate change.

DEP would like feedback, check out the toolkit here and respond to the survey here

After the website is updated there will be a webinar and How To video about using the site.

Modeling the Effects of Sea-Level Rise on Groundwater Levels with Implications for Road Infrastructure in Coastal New Hampshire, Jayne Knott, University of New Hampshire, Infrastructure and Climate Network (ICNet)

View presentation here.

Highlights:  As sea level rises, groundwater will rise until equilibrium is established between aquifer recharge and discharge to the sea, this has implications for septic systems, stream flow, salt water intrusion of wells, infrastructure, and contaminated soils. The life of pavement structures decrease when saturated with water, need to know where sections of roads where the groundwater table is already shallow, expect it to rise and road to be vulnerable.

Actions a community can take:

• Formally consider groundwater predictions when: designing or repairing road infrastructure, establishing criteria for the cleanup of contaminated sites, permitting onsite septic systems, and designing sea walls or other protective structures to mitigate damage from sea-level rise
• Identify drinking water supply wells that may be at risk from saltwater intrusion and plan for alternative sources, if necessary
• Identify the critical infrastructure in your community where rising groundwater may cause problems
• Protect existing wetlands and adjacent areas to allow for wetland expansion
• Collaborate with research institutions, community planning organizations, government, and private partners to plan for the future