ASSESSING SEA LEVEL RISE VULNERABILITY AND COSTS IN A DATA LIMITED ENVIRONMENT

“Resiliency” for communities at risk from sea level rise and its effects means preserving as much property and associated economic activity as possible without disrupting current activity or expending funds on projects that provide limited long-term utility or social value. Of interest is how the coincidence of these events impacts the need for storm water improvements and the financial obligations they will entail.  This research project focused on the impacts of a non-coastal, groundwater influenced southeast Florida community and the long-term funding they will need to reduce flooding in the community using GIS.  This research involved defining surface elevations and groundwater levels, assessing the impacts of sea level rise on groundwater, assessing impacts to storm water from rainfall, identifying likely improvements, and assessing the scale for improvements.  The analysis used three extreme rainstorm events under the 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-foot sea level rise scenarios to determine the magnitude of the cost of the improvements.  For a 35-square mile community, our research estimated that the cost could exceed $300 million. For a community not directly adjacent to the coast, the magnitude of these costs should be of interest to similarly placed communities.