Developed Coastlines

Massachusetts coastal communities face significant risks from coastal storms, flooding, erosion, and sea level rise—challenges exacerbated by climate change. Adding to the threats is new and existing development, which can adversely impact sensitive coastal resources.

Many people here live, work, and play in close proximity to the seashore. If immediate action is not taken, The Trustees is concerned about the likelihood of substantial impacts to public road access, homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure in coastal areas.

While vulnerability varies considerably, some areas with extensive beaches (Salisbury to Essex) are relatively low-lying and more likely to experience negative impacts. The coast from Gloucester south to Swampscott is generally higher and more developed, yet even these areas may see over- topped seawalls and banks from storms and flooding of low areas. With most of the coastline privately held, thousands of property owners are likely to face the increasing challenges of climate change.

Examples of impacts include:

Roads Flooding is projected to increasingly threaten property and public safety, particularly in Salisbury, Gloucester, Salem, Ipswich, and Essex. For example, the data shows more than 18 miles of roads in Newbury may flood in a 100-year storm in 2050 [CIT. 3]. Roads chronically flooded from daily tides after 2050 could include Argilla and Jeffrey’s Neck Roads in Ipswich, the Plum Island Turnpike, and roads along the Great Marsh in Newbury, Rowley, and Essex [CIT. 1].

Neighborhoods Communities in recent years have experienced the devastation caused by repeated storm surges and flooding. Our 2050 projections show potential flooding on a regular basis on Plum Island and Salisbury Beach, near the Devereux Beach area in Marblehead and Long Beach in Gloucester, and in Essex neighborhoods near Conomo Point [CIT. 1].

Business Districts Flooding threatens downtown areas, new coastal developments, and critical infrastructure. In 2018, for instance, an intense winter storm sent high tides crashing over Front Street in Marblehead just two months after historic high tides led to road closures, Plum Island evacuations, and damage to businesses like Woodman’s in Essex. Storms also may impact downtown Newburyport along the Merrimack River, including its wastewater treatment plant.

Current Coastal Strategies

Cities and towns on the North Shore actively participate in two state-sponsored programs—the Coastal Resilience Grant Program and the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program—and have undertaken vulnerability assessments. The programs provide financial and technical support for local efforts to prepare for climate change resiliency, develop action-oriented adaptation plans, and implement priority projects.

Future Opportunities

What faces us now is a chance to transition our communities so that they are protected from climate-driven dangers and can recover from damage and loss. Projections indicate that North Shore residents and business owners must make hard choices now about ways to avoid or reduce flood risk and whether they will leave risk-prone developed coastlines—or stay and adapt.

To buy time and increase the odds of success, these responses and initiatives should focus on the most highly vulnerable areas and the best opportunities to improve resiliency. Based on our latest findings, we propose:

Protecting Vulnerable Roads With so many routes bringing residents and visitors to shorelines at high risk of chronic daily tidal flooding, it’s up to our communities to innovate in sustainable ways. Options include raising roads, removing or altering tidal restrictions, restoring adjacent marsh, and creating natural vegetated slopes along places like Argilla Road in Ipswich. Parts of other threatened roads may need to be abandoned.

Adapting New Development and Shoring up Existing Homes and Businesses It is urgent that new or existing buildings in current and projected flood zones are designed for adaptive reuse, with features such as breakaway walls, wet and dry floodproofing, and multiple elevations. We must undertake creative planning and retrofitting to protect them against storm surges, and consider whether other buildings—including some critical infrastructure—should be relocated.

Buffering Ocean-Facing Economies From Climate Impacts With tourism, fishing, and other businesses expected to experience increased disruption, it makes sense to create opportunities for sustainable, regional growth. Gloucester, for instance, is working with partners on one such initiative called the North Shore Blue Economy.

implementing Coastal Buyouts and Providing Financial Relief to Homeowners, Lessees, Renters, and Businesses at-Risk of Severe or Repeated Flood Damage A FEMA report released earlier this year recommended expanding government programs to buy and raze houses in flood zones, relocating owners to higher ground and reducing costs to public disaster programs. Flood-prone areas could then be conserved as resilient, publicly accessible open space, offering protections into the future.