Miami Beach 'Rising' to Challenge of Encroaching Seas

In Miami Beach, Fla., flooding is not unusual. Vehicle owners are accustomed to salt water getting into their cars, corroding the metal, and getting stuck in traffic when floods turn streets into shallow canals.
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To cope with the sea-level-rise-related flooding, the city is changing its coastline.  In the next five years, 70 to 80 pumps will be installed to keep the streets free of water -- a project that will cost $300 million to $500 million, according to Eric Carpenter, public works director for the city of Miami Beach.  Funding comes primarily through city bonds and should buy the city about 30 years in its efforts to adapt to sea-level rise, he said.

At the same time, the city may raise roads and sidewalks by 1.5 to 2 feet along the west side that faces the Biscayne Bay.

"We're anticipating that the elevation of roadways will not cost more than 10 to 15 percent more for stormwater improvements," Carpenter said.  "It's a long-term prospect."

While raising Miami Beach above sea level could slow flooding, the city may need to raise itself an additional 2 to 4 feet in the next four years.

Florida is one of the states most vulnerable to climate change.  Sea levels rose 8 to 9 inches in the last hundred years and are expected to rise 3 to 7 inches more in the next 15 years, according to federal projections.
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In the last 10 years, Miami Beach's economy has suffered from the effects of sea-level rise, said Luiz Rodrigues, executive director of the Environmental Coalition of Miami and the Beaches.  Businesses along West Avenue on the western coast suffered damage from being flooded two to five times a year until recently, when pumps installed ahead of a major tide in 2014 were built to keep the streets dry and diminish the impact of flooding.

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