Climate scientists met in Downtown Fort Lauderdale Wednesday to highlight current and future investments to try to combat the effects of sea-level rise.
The presentations, as part of the civics group the Fort Lauderdale Forum, came less than a week after a new climate assessment released by the Trump administration provided a bleak forecast for the U.S., and described an increase in extreme weather events such as fires, floods and storm surges.
South Florida could see over two-feet of sea level rise across the region by 2060, according to the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact. That much water means more tidal flooding for Fort Lauderdale homes and businesses, as well as future salt-water intrusion into the water table.
Read More: New U.S. Climate Assessment Forecasts Dire Effects On Economy, Health
The Chief Resilience Officer for Broward County, Jennifer Jurado, said the county has already been successfully updating drainage systems on the most vulnerable streets. Next, the county is working on maps.
"We're in the process now of re-mapping our flood maps to account for sea-level rise," Jurado said. "We expect that work to be done in this next year, and that will help us address this exposure as we plan for a future condition."
The Assistant Public Works Director for Fort Lauderdale, Nancy Gassman, as well as the co-founder of Fort Lauderdale engineering consulting company Brizaga, Alec Bogdanoff, also presented about the impacts of sea-level rise.
Concerned citizen Rick Abdow came with his wife to listen to the presentations. He lives on the end of Hendricks Isle in Fort Lauderdale, and his condo is surrounded by water. He said he's worried that the city isn't investing in enough resiliency projects, and has instead chosen to fund other types of upgrades. He pointed to the city commission's decision to renovate the aquatic complex on Seabreeze Blvd.
"They're considering spending $27 million on [a] swim facility - they've got all kinds of parks and parking garages," Abdow said. "What's more important, what's the priority?"
Two years ago, the city also updated its seawall ordinance, requiring seawalls to be a minimum of 3.9 feet high.
"Every time a high tide comes up, our street is totally flooded," Abdow said. "We should raise our [seawalls], but at the same time the city should coordinate theirs."
Jurado and other panelists tried to assure residents that any investment carries value towards minimizing water damage, even thogh there is no dollar amount that will make South Florida perfectly resilient,
"We need to consistently maintain a plan that's forward thinking. We need to be able to communicate that," Jurado said. "These investments provide both short and long-term benefits. It's not just that we're planning for 60 and 100 years out; these impact are happening today, these investments will benefit us today."
You can visit the editorial collaboration to urge action on sea-level rise, The Invading Seas, for more information.
