Coastal Engineering & Nature-Based Adaptation

With rising sea levels, increasing storm intensities, and shifting shorelines, coastal communities are mobilizing to address the challenges along their shores. ESA’s coastal engineering practice was founded on the principle of “engineering with nature,” and our team has pioneered new approaches to traditional challenges that work with natural processes to deliver a combination of social, ecological, and economic benefits. 

ESA brings more than 50 years of experience in flood risk management, ecosystem restoration, and sea level rise planning with a focus on bays, estuaries, and the open coast. Let us help you creatively and effectively face the challenges along your shore.

Our integrated team includes experts in coastal engineering, experts in coastal geomorphology, ecology, fisheries, landscape architecture, adaptation planning, and regulatory compliance. We combine restoration expertise with an understanding of coastal hazards and quantification of specific flood risk and erosion-reduction benefits.

Our vast project portfolio includes planning and design of nature-based adaptation features, or living shorelines, such as beaches, sand dunes, wetlands, reefs, and ecotone levees, including those with innovative features to improve water quality. We also specialize in integrating nature-based opportunities into comprehensive shoreline adaptation plans that include the full range of traditional “grey” to “green” infrastructure.

We provide a range of related services such as restoration of sensitive wetland and coastal habitats, coastal flood modeling and storm surge analysis, coastal zone management, design of traditional engineered coastal defenses, sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation assessment, environmental permitting and compliance, and other climate adaptation services.