More than 3,000 buildings and homes on Nantucket will be at risk of coastal flooding or erosion over the next 50 years due to sea-level rise, and access to Steamboat Wharf could be partially cutoff on a monthly basis within the next decade. Damages could top more than $1.2 billion. Those staggering conclusions come from the preliminary findings of a coastal risk assessment released this week as part of the Town of Nantucket’s Coastal Resilience Plan mid-project summary report.
“We understand what the problems and challenges are, and what we’ve done is put numbers to it so we know the actual buildings and the costs we could be looking at,” said Vincent Murphy, the town’s coastal resilience coordinator.
The town’s Coastal Resilience Plan will ultimately give the island options to mitigate those impacts, study the costs associated with inaction, and establish a baseline for what the community should do to adapt to rising sea levels.
“The numbers are scary, the potential is scary, but we do have time to plan if we start now,” said Mary Longacre, chair of the town’s Coastal Resiliency Advisory Committee. “We know that sea level rise is happening and that storms are going to happen. We’re trying to extend the amount of time Nantucket has available to it, to mitigate the effects and learn to live with them. That’s the main focus, to enjoy the island as close to the way we have and preserve our historic architecture and natural environment.”
The final plan will include recommendations that will likely explore big-ticket mitigation projects, including approaches ranging from a barrier system to slow down wave action and limit the extent of coastal flooding to new wetland areas to hold and retain water.
“It’s not going to be one and done,” Murphy said. “There will be tiered methods.”
