- Steve Goldbeck
-
50 California Street, Suite 2600San Francisco, CA 94111-4705United StatesPhone: (415) 352.3600
You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.
Project Summary / Overview
As one of the largest estuaries in North America, San Francisco Bay is under increasing pressure from sea level rise. Anticipated sea level rise ranges from 20 to 55 inches along the California coast. As part of its mission to protect and sustainably develop the Bay Area, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) has been working to incorporate climate change and sea level rise scenarios into its comprehensive plan. In addition, BCDC has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Coastal Services Center to create the Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) project in order to assist communities in the Bay Area prepare for sea level rise.
Project Background
In 2009, BCDC released Living With a Rising Bay, its sea level rise assessment. This assessment included the following:
- Projected a 20–55 inch rise in sea level by 2100
- Estimated $36 billion in expenses by 2050 and $62 billion by 2100
- Increased flooding risk for 270,000 Bay residents with a 55 inch rise
- Increased flooding risk for 210,000 acres of Bay shoreline by 2100
- Estimated 95% of tidal wetlands vulnerable to sea level rise, which may increase flooding and erosion
The ART project was created as a result of this vulnerability assessment and facilitates connections between communities, scientists, managers, and planners at both the local and state level to address sea level rise. The project is designed to both identify the likely effects of climate change and sea level rise on the Bay Area’s natural and built environments and create adaptation strategies to increase resilience and limit risks.
