Rowley
THE MAIN IMPACTS:
Erosion While Plum Island erosion is likely to worsen, no specific threat exists for Rowley residents, who do not live on the island.
Marsh Loss High marsh, which makes up most of Rowley’s 2,000 acres of marsh, may start transitioning to regularly flooded marsh and open water by 2050, with 100 acres of high marsh possibly lost [CIT. 2].
Habitat Concerns By 2050, about 200 acres (46%) of the town’s 437 acres of estuarine beach/tidal flats could become open water [CIT. 2].
Developed Coast Daily tidal flooding of Stackyard and Patmos Roads is likely in 2050 [CIT. 1].
OCEAN-FACING SHORELINE (2.5 MILES) [CIT. 4]
Shoreline types below can overlap, not cumulative
FUTURE STORM AND TIDAL FLOODING [CIT 1,3]
Blue=Current Shoreline / Red=2050 Chronic Tidal Flooding (MHHW) / Yellow=2050 1% (1 in 100 year) storm flooding
OTHER RISKS INCLUDE:
Property Damage A 10-year storm in Rowley may flood more than 73 buildings (about 2.3%) in 2050 [CIT. 3]. Chronic daily tidal flooding could impact 25 buildings (0.8%) in 2050 [CIT. 1].
Road Flooding Daily high tides may flood almost 1.5 miles (2.0%) of roads in 2050 [CIT. 1]. An estimated 9.2 miles (12.2%) of roadway could flood in the event of a 100-year storm in 2050 [CIT. 3].
STRATEGY SNAPSHOT: MVP PLAN
Rowley received a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant earlier this year for community-led planning around climate-related risks. The MVP program provides funding and technical support for cities and towns to identify climate hazards and develop strategies to improve resilience. When its plan is complete, Rowley will be eligible for MVP Action Grants to implement priority projects. Communities use grants for on-the-ground actions such as adapting infra- structure, stormwater upgrades, dam retrofits and removals, and nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration.