Flooding and erosion are ongoing vulnerabilities for the coastal City of Del Mar. Understanding these vulnerabilities under a range of scenarios can help inform planning, policy development, and adaptation strategies to reduce these potential hazards and protect public health and safety.
The Draft AP [Del Mar Adaptation Plan] is a fantastic example of the sea-level rise adaptation planning process, and I hope it can be shared regionally.
Climate change and sea-level rise have myriad impacts; understanding the potential vulnerabilities under a range of sea-level rise scenarios informs planning, policy development, and adaptation strategies to reduce these hazards and vulnerabilities, and protect public health and safety.
ESA developed a Local Coastal Program (LCP) Amendment to guide the City in addressing sea-level rise, storm surge, and coastal flooding. This included developing a coastal hazards analysis and vulnerability assessment to analyze the potential impacts of these scenarios and drafting a sea-level rise adaptation plan to serve as the City’s long-range plan. With input from the City, a stakeholder-technical advisory committee, and the California Coastal Commission, ESA finalized the LCP Amendment for adoption by the City and approval by the Commission.
At the same time, ESA prepared a sediment management plan and a detailed vulnerability assessment of San Dieguito Lagoon wetland habitat to inform implementation of the adaptation plan and LCP Amendment policies.
Bob Battalio, PE
ESA’s coastal engineering team, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, Point Blue, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Site Sentinel Cooperative, has developed the Natural Shoreline Infrastructure: Technical Guidance for the California Coast; a guideline and toolset for the implementation of natural infrastructure elements as accountable, effective, and sustainable solutions for protecting our shores against sea-level rise.
Projects
