The Town of Dartmouth, with just over 34,000 residents, is the largest town by area on Buzzards Bay (62 square miles). Its 20-mile shoreline [CIT. 17] stretches along Buzzards Bay, Clarks Cove, and three large estuaries: Slocums River, Little River, and Apponagansett Bay.

In the next 30 years, Dartmouth is projected to experience a variety of climate impacts to both natural areas and developed areas along its coast (see Coastal Impact Matrix for details).

As soon as 2050:

DEVELOPED AREAS: Daily tidal flooding is projected to impact 69 buildings [CIT. 5]. A 10-year flood may impact 635 buildings (3.5% of town buildings), while a 100-year flood may impact 902 buildings (5%) [CIT. 5]. At-risk areas include the Town Landing, Padanaram Village, and properties near Destruction Brook, Buttonwood Brook, and Apponagansett Bay.

ROADS: Daily tidal flooding may impact 3 miles of roads [CIT. 5]. A 10-year flood is projected to inundate 15.6 miles (5% of town roads), while a 100-year flood may inundate 20 miles (6%) [CIT. 5]. Areas at risk include the Gulf Road causeway, residential streets including Elm Street, Bridge Street, and Smith Neck Road, and access roads to the town’s water supply wells.

SALT MARSHES: Eighty six percent (868 of 1007 acres) of critical high marsh habitat may be lost by flooding or conversion to low marsh. Overall, about 30% of total marsh (325 of 1,072 acres) may be completely lost [CIT. 6]. Affected areas include the Buttonwood Brook Watershed, Slocums River Corridor, Little River Corridor, Cow Yard Salt Marsh, and Apponagansett Bay salt marshes.

BEACHES: Dartmouth has 16.2 miles of shoreline classified as beach [CIT. 17], and 4.1 miles of the coastline are publicly accessible (21%) [CIT. 16]. Beaches are expected to see increased erosion and seawalls may continue deteriorating at Apponagansett Park and Arthur Dias Town Landing.

THE TOWN IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING RESILIENCE PRIORITIES [CIT. 36 AND 37]:

• Use of nature-based strategies to protect vulnerable developed areas.

• Stormwater assessments and flood resiliency for critical municipal infrastructure.

• Land conservation of key parcels including resiliency planning for agricultural properties.

• Strengthening bylaws for low impact development and floodplain protection.