For the first time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will study impacts of sea level rise on the entire region with a focus on economically disadvantaged communities, vulnerable infrastructure, and nature-based strategies.
The Bay Area Regional Collaborative (BARC), the State Coastal Conservancy, Save The Bay, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Bay Area Council, the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, the Bay Planning Coalition, San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District (also known as OneShoreline), and the California Natural Resources Agency will be involved in the project.
The Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), was signed Jan. 4 by President Joe Biden directs the Army Corps to look at sea level rise in the Bay Area.
The study, which is anticipated to begin in 2026, assuming funding, builds on and expands Army Corps’s existing authority to address the impacts and adaptation to sea level rise and climate change in the nine-county Bay Area’s ocean and bay shorelines.
“This study will build upon existing science, prioritizing the Bay’s economically disadvantaged and climate-vulnerable communities to identify where the impacts of sea level rise will hit the hardest," said Allison Brooks, Executive Director, Bay Area Regional Collaborative. "We are excited to collaborate with the Army Corps to protect these areas while maximizing the use of nature-based solutions to support the Bay’s wildlife habitats.”
Regional funding through Measure AA, State of California funding through the 2024 Climate Bond, and stakeholder contributions will leverage federal funding through the Army Corps for the regional study and future projects.
The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority is staffed by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership and oversees Measure AA funds, and is a program of ABAG and the State Coastal Conservancy. ABAG also appoints its governing board which funds projects that include habitat restoration, flood protection, shoreline access and recreational amenities.
In addition to investigating measures to adapt to rising sea levels, the Army Corp study will consider the needs of economically disadvantaged communities and the existing vulnerable infrastructure of these areas, and the use of natural features and beneficial use of dredged sediment in the solutions.
WRDA also directs the Army Corps to look at the effects of proposed flood or shoreline protection, coastal storm risk reduction, environmental infrastructure and other measures on the local economy, recreation, aquatic ecosystem restoration, public infrastructure protection, and stormwater runoff capacity, as well as the erosion of beaches and coasts.
The San Francisco Bay Area stands to be one of the hardest-hit regions in the nation from rising sea level, with over 8 million residents, nine counties, 101 cities, and vital infrastructure, communities, ecosystems, and businesses — all clustered around a single bay. The impacts to communities along San Francisco’s 400-mile shoreline are expected to land disproportionately on socially vulnerable populations, which are the most at risk and least able to recover from flooding.
With the projected sea level rise under state guidance of 9.6 inches by 2050, the Bay Area is preparing to effectively manage the risks to human health and safety and the estimated hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to property and infrastructure. Specific assets at near-term risk include airports, ports, wastewater treatment plants, major highways and roadways, public transit and thousands of homes in low and moderate-income communities.
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