rising

Flooding Causes Billions In Property Damage

Featured Image Credit: Youtube

When it comes to rising sea levels, Charleston is on the front lines of the battlefield. Situated on the coast of South Carolina, the Holy City is notorious for flooding during storms that drop more than an inch of rain. Flooding throughout the city is made worse by incoming tides and rising sea levels.

Scientists from the nonprofit First Street Foundation have recently found that a massive $7.4 billion in home value has been lost due to rising sea levels from 2005-2017 in the five coastal states of Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, and to no surprise, South Carolina.

According to research conducted by Steven A. McAlpine, Head of Data Science at First Street Foundation and Columbia University professor and statistical consultant Jeremy R. Porter, $465 million was lost in the Miami-Dade County real-estate market from 2005-2016 due to sea-level rise flooding.

So what do the numbers look like for South Carolina?

The total loss in South Carolina is over $1.1 billion and for the Charleston area specifically, that is over $266 million in total property value lost.

Previous academic studies have forecasted the negative impact sea level rise will have on the value of coastal properties in the future, but this study is the first to show that depreciation has already taken place. By looking at predictors of home value, such as square footage or proximity to amenities and economic trends like the 2008 recession, scientists were able to isolate the impact frequent tidal flooding, caused by sea level rise has had on home value.

“It is one thing to project what the future impacts of sea level rise could be, but it is quite another to know that the market has already responded negatively to this threat,” McAlpine told the First Street Foundation in a press release.

“The ability to pay for solutions to sea level rise is directly related to our ability to finance them. We do not want to see the beginning of a domino effect, where lost property value lowers the tax base and cripples our ability to finance solutions,” Porter stated in the press release.

This is the first academic paper to signify that sea level rise is directly to blame for a decrease in coastal home value and the role nearby flooding plays in that decrease.

“Flooding does not have to be a way of life for coastal communities. Cities can take measures to mitigate the impact and protect property values,” Matthew Eby, Executive Director at First Street Foundation said in the press release. “But without action, the rate of home value loss will only accelerate.”

For residents of Charleston, sea-level rise and flooding have always been persistent, but it is clear loss such as this that proves there is no time to wait when it comes to protecting our beloved coastal properties.

Featured

Coastal Flooding: A Major Concern For The Lowcountry

Featured Image Credit: Time

Did you know that about 175 years ago, the mayor of Charleston offered a $100 gold medal to whoever could solve the city’s issue of coastal flooding?

Yep, it’s true.

We’re now in 2018. No medal was ever awarded, which means the problem was never solved. Now today we are a city full of development and rising sea levels that have near-daily consequences. Tidal flooding has increased over 200% in the last 20 years and the sea level has risen over 6 inches nationally since 1950.

Image Credit: Charles Merry via Charleston City Paper

The Charleston peninsula that sticks out towards the Atlantic Ocean has largely expanded by filling in creeks and marshes. This leaves the streets susceptible because the water has nowhere else to go. Even on the sunniest days, the streets of Charleston can be flooded due to high tides.

Over the next 15 to 30 years, more severe storms, tidal flooding, and higher tides are expected to get worse. This means that a city like Charleston that is already prone to severe flooding is in some serious trouble.

While tidal floods are often just a foot or two deep, they can stop traffic, swamp homes, damage cars, kill lawns and forests, and poison wells with salt.

Image Credit: College of Charleston

“There are three basic approaches to sea level rise,” said Erika Spanger-Siegfried, a senior analyst for the Climate & Energy Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “You can defend against the water with walls to keep it out. You accommodate the water by living with it and elevating buildings and creating channels. Or you retreat.”

Charleston is taking the threat of coastal flooding and rising sea levels seriously, but there is no doubt that more needs to be done about this issue.

Featured

Low Battery Changes Becoming More Likely With Rising Sea Levels

Featured Image Credit: Charleston-SC.gov

Downtown Charleston is facing many changes in the next 50 years as the Lowcountry adjusts to rising sea levels of about 2.5 feet. The main area of alteration will be concentrated in the Low Battery, located at the tip of the peninsula. The city is currently putting together one of the largest infrastructure projects in its history to prevent the famous Battery Park from being submerged under water.

Image Credit: Charleston Civic Design Center via Charleston City Paper

Jacob Lindsey, a member of the city’s Planning Department, stated that they are not delaying the process, “We want to get the ball rolling so we can predict when this whole thing will be completed.”

The Charleston Civic Design Division has proposed four different plans for reshaping the Low Battery. The first blueprint envisions completely filling in the railing that stretches across the waterfront. The problem with this proposal is that much of the view of the ocean will be obscured by the newly built wall.

The second option has been the most popular. Under this plan, the entire walkway along the Low Battery would be raised 2.5 feet. The benefit of this plan is that it would allow a wall facing the water to be raised in the event of a more severe sea-level rise. “Half Park, Half Roadway” is the name of the third option. This plan would raise and expand the waterfront walkway, with only one street running between the Low Battery and White Point Garden.

Image Credit: Charleston Civic Design Center via Charleston City Paper

The final option would be to broaden the park and completely remove Murray Boulevard between King Street and East Battery. While option four is the most dramatic option, it would still be within the city’s longstanding policy to establish public space along the waterways that surround the peninsula. However, with this plan comes the loss of parking that would greatly affect tourists and locals.

It’s no secret that parking in Downtown Charleston is a nightmare. The city budget shows that parking revenue in the city is estimated to be over $24.6 million in 2017 alone. $1.5 of that comes from parking meters and over $3 million from parking violations and expired meters. The College of Charleston conducted a survey on hospitality workers in the city. In their study, they found that more than 38 percent of hospitality workers received at least one parking citation while working in the past 12 months. They also reported spending more than $100 a month on parking.

The city’s 2016 Peninsula Hotel Study found that hospitality and food and beverage workers make up 34 percent of the workforce in the Charleston metropolitan area. Only 51 percent of them would be willing to take a shuttle to work and would pay an average of $3.39 for the service. Therefore, the outrageous parking expenses affect a large part of the Holy City’s population and a better resolution needs to be put in the works.

Image Credit: Charleston Civic Design Center via Charleston City Paper

This year, Josh Martin, the advisor to Mayor John Tecklenburg, said that the city would be conducting its first major downtown parking study in 20 years. The project will come from the $350,000 set aside in the budget for developing a transportation plan. The study will include things like the location of parking, the value of parking, and the value of on-street versus deck parking. Lindsey expressed that if parking were to be removed from the Low Battery, it would be compensated with remote commuter lots in other designated areas.

Seventeen different city departments are putting their heads together to help adapt the city to rising sea-levels and a rapid increasing population. The overall effort will have a major impact on the city and will probably be the main focus of government operations for the next 50 years.

People who want to provide input on the Low Battery plans can take a survey online, visit the information booth at King Street and Murray Boulevard on August 4 from 8 a.m. to noon, or stop by the Charleston Civic Design Center.