Southern Rhode Island coastal communities – Block Island, Narragansett, Charlestown, Westerly, North Kingstown, and South Kingstown – are benefiting from a “road show” of tailored technical assistance for coastal flooding and erosion issues from the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center (CRC) and Rhode Island Sea Grant. A team of coastal managers have taken to the road to as part of the development of the state’s Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP), meeting with each of these municipalities’ decision-makers and staff, as well as state agency representatives, to explore strategies to address flooding and erosion.

The presentations, supported by a federal grant for adaptation assistance for Southern Rhode Island, which was battered by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, focused on examining towns’ individual issues and providing tools and tips suitable for any coastal community facing the challenges of storms and sea level rise. These recommendations will be incorporated into the SAMP, which is an effort of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.

Adaption Tools and Strategies

Decision-makers and municipal staff seeking to look at adaptation issues from a local perspective are encouraged to consider:

• Stormtools: This up-to-date, map-based application illustrates the flooding impacts to Rhode Island properties associated with storms and sea level rise. Click here to view.
• Ten Adaptation Strategies: An overview of strategies for addressing impacts of storms and sea level rise. View PowerPoint.
• Model Process for Municipalities: This webinar is a primer on the steps a town or city can take to build resilience via key planning activities, such as revising state-mandated community comprehensive plans. Watch webinar.

Resilience Building is Mandated:

The Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program now requires cities and towns to address climate adaptation in community comprehensive plans (see webinar above).

Local Input is Needed:

Municipal decision-makers and staff are encouraged to share their perspectives with the Beach SAMP team by e-mailing beachsamp@etal.uri.edu. This can help ensure that future tools and resources continue to be tailored to local needs. A concern being heard repeatedly on the road: More needs to be done to strengthen management of stormwater along low-lying coastal areas to ensure roads are stable and safe. Pilot projects in North Kingstown, Newport, and Warwick are examining how green infrastructure (such as bioswales and rain gardens) can be used to both treat stormwater as well as absorb and divert it to reduce the impacts of storms and flooding.