Study warns of increased flooding in Broward due to rising seas, stronger storms
The study, commissioned by Broward County, found that "compound flooding" - a mix of tidal flooding, storm surge and heavy rainfall - will become more common.
The findings suggest mitigation measures such as installing pump stations, raising seawalls to seven feet in the coming decades, narrowing some roads to allow for more green space and adding more swales to improve drainage.
Residents already feeling the effects
For Thomas Godart, who lives in Fort Lauderdale 's Las Olas Isles, flooding is nothing new.
"Some of these homes, people are up to their knees in water. They can't even get to their homes," Godart said.
Many city-owned seawalls in his neighborhood have already been raised to the new standard of five feet, but private homeowners have not all followed suit.
"You can see this here," Godart said, pointing to a lower seawall beside a taller one. "This is a much higher seawall because that was a brand new house."
Rising flood risks and potential solutions
Dr. Jennifer Jurado, Broward County's Chief Resilience Officer, said the study confirms that flooding events will continue to worsen.
"The headline is that compound flooding is going to increase in terms of its occurrence and its impacts within our community," Jurado said.
She emphasized the importance of proactive infrastructure improvements, including higher seawalls, drainage enhancements and more green space. Swales, she noted, could play a key role in managing floodwaters.
"If we have functioning swales, we'll actually see that water dissipate in potentially a couple of hours, certainly less than a day," she said.
Next steps
County officials will now review the study to determine priorities, a process expected to take several months. The findings will then be presented to the county commission for consideration.
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San Francisco Chronicle
04-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
This Bay Area park is popular with campers. Could the ocean wash it away?
For about a half-century, Denise Longacre's family has dug for clams and stoked seaside campfires on Doran Beach, a crescent swoop of sand jutting out of the Sonoma County coast at the mouth of Bodega Bay. The Pacific Ocean's relentless winds have been the only constant — apart from camaraderie. Beach sands shift dramatically season-to-season and year to year. Clam populations have plummeted. Storms seem more dramatic. 'I've seen tents blown into the water,' she said. 'One December, all the roads flooded. It was pouring rain.' County experts warn that ocean waters increasingly cover areas of Doran from sea to harbor during winter storms and King Tides — inundations that provide a grim glimpse of a future in which rising seas could overwhelm this narrow but important spit of land. Doran's two-mile peninsula shelters Bodega Harbor, the largest fishing port between San Francisco and Fort Bragg. More than one-third of Doran Regional Park could be permanently underwater by the end of the century, if worst-case scenarios for sea level rise developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and National Research Council unfold as projected. Parks officials say there are actions they can take to lessen the impact, but they involve compromise. Natural dunes like those at Doran are masterful water absorbers, but restoring them might require moving — or removing — hardscapes like roads, picnic areas or campgrounds. Steve Ehret, planning manager for Sonoma County Regional Parks, said the county is in the very early stages of studying how to prepare Doran Beach for the next 50 and 100 years. Every major flood at Doran is a chance to learn how they might preserve the beach for people and wildlife for decades to come. 'It's a shot across the bow — a warning shot,' Ehret said. Most California beaches stand square-shouldered against the Pacific Ocean's pounding surf. But Doran curves southward, creating a relatively safe boogie-boarding paradise where children are more free to splash in crashing waves. Doran's northern shoulder hosts a rich ecosystem of tidal mudflats and salt marshes with eelgrass, shorebirds and endangered salmonids. Its 139-site campground for tents and RVs was built on land built up from dredged material decades ago when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carved the harbor out of the original lagoon. Coastal ecologist Peter Baye said Doran shares key similarities with Stinson Beach. They are relatively protected south-facing barrier beaches with lagoons. Both lie on the San Andreas Fault and are vulnerable to large earthquakes that can cause the sand to compact and settle. Baye said beach erosion occurs in big pulses triggered by storms, bursts of rising seas triggered by global changes and earthquakes. 'One hundred years of erosion usually occurs with a few big storms,' Baye said. But unlike Stinson, which is largely lined with homes, cabins and businesses on private parcels, Doran is all public land with relatively minimal infrastructure including a road, campground, picnic areas, parking lots and septic systems. Baye said that could make it easier to cede areas to dunes and other natural systems. Resilient beaches must be able to shift with ocean movement, and they can't do that if they are hemmed in by hardscape and infrastructure. 'How can we buy some time? How can we….slow the most catastrophic, disruptive changes?' Baye said. Ehret said there are no plans yet for what the county will do. Officials are studying critical habitat areas and recreational infrastructure as well as federal sea level reports to understand which areas are most vulnerable to sea level changes. The county will hold many public discussions and present scenarios for balancing recreation and natural ecosystems at Doran in the coming years. 'It's not one day Doran is gone — it's slow,' Ehret said. The county already has many dune restoration programs underway. One of the greatest successes in restoring dunes at Doran has come from a group of stalwart volunteers. Jan Lochner and a crew of native plant society members have pulled invasive ice plant out of Doran's sands almost every Wednesday for eight years. Lochner said it seemed like a Sisyphean task at the outset but has proved remarkably effective. They have cleared more than a mile of beach of invasive plant species and watched the dunes and native plants readily reclaim the space. They've seen the threatened snowy plover begin to rebound with the removal of tall European dune grasses that were hiding prime predators like skunks. 'It's so daunting, but week by week it adds up,' Lochner said.
CBS News
04-02-2025
- CBS News
Study warns of increased flooding in Broward due to rising seas, stronger storms
FORT LAUDERDALE - Broward County residents can expect more frequent and severe flooding events in the coming years as rising sea levels, stronger rainstorms and King Tides combine to overwhelm drainage systems, a new resilience study warns. The study, commissioned by Broward County, found that "compound flooding" - a mix of tidal flooding, storm surge and heavy rainfall - will become more common. The findings suggest mitigation measures such as installing pump stations, raising seawalls to seven feet in the coming decades, narrowing some roads to allow for more green space and adding more swales to improve drainage. Residents already feeling the effects For Thomas Godart, who lives in Fort Lauderdale 's Las Olas Isles, flooding is nothing new. "Some of these homes, people are up to their knees in water. They can't even get to their homes," Godart said. Many city-owned seawalls in his neighborhood have already been raised to the new standard of five feet, but private homeowners have not all followed suit. "You can see this here," Godart said, pointing to a lower seawall beside a taller one. "This is a much higher seawall because that was a brand new house." Rising flood risks and potential solutions Dr. Jennifer Jurado, Broward County's Chief Resilience Officer, said the study confirms that flooding events will continue to worsen. "The headline is that compound flooding is going to increase in terms of its occurrence and its impacts within our community," Jurado said. She emphasized the importance of proactive infrastructure improvements, including higher seawalls, drainage enhancements and more green space. Swales, she noted, could play a key role in managing floodwaters. "If we have functioning swales, we'll actually see that water dissipate in potentially a couple of hours, certainly less than a day," she said. Next steps County officials will now review the study to determine priorities, a process expected to take several months. The findings will then be presented to the county commission for consideration.
Yahoo
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- Yahoo
King Tides, highest of the season, roll over San Francisco's Embarcadero
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