Overview

Increased flooding from Nor’easters, extreme storms like Irene and Sandy, and sea level rise affects people’s lives, livelihoods and their environment in Connecticut.  Losses of homes and wetlands from more frequent and severe storms are critical management and planning issues.  At the heart of the challenge are the decisions we have made in neighborhoods, municipalities and across the state for the last 300 to 400 years about what goes where and why along our coastline and waterways.  Naturally, many of these decisions have been made without a full understanding of risks from an increasing number of hazard events.  Ongoing development and redevelopment that does not factor in the risks will increase the overall cost to society that we are now sharing in the aftermath of Sandy and Irene due to decisions made a century ago in some cases.  Thanks to tools and programs like Coastal Resilience we can now see and plan for the future here in Connecticut and help to avoid future costs to our economy, society, and ecosystems.

Socioeconomic

Human Populations: With a third or more of the state’s resident’s living along the coastline, Connecticut has committed to a high level of exposure and vulnerability. This highly developed coastline is now changing at an unprecedented rate, expressed not only environmental challenges but also social and economic ones.  A good deal of these states’ coastal private property is only inches above current sea level, which puts billions of dollars in public and private insured assets at great risk.  With an estimated $405 billion in insured assets, the Connecticut coastline is particularly vulnerable to accelerating coastal hazards. Nevertheless, social and economic factors continue to make building in coastal areas both desirable and legally and economically feasible. In many cases, the significant importance of natural resources such as barrier islands, dunes, shellfish reefs, and tidal wetlands that provide critical habitat and help keep people and property safe from hazards are not properly valued and incorporated into planning and adaptation implementation.

Aerial view of Sound View Beach in Old Lyme, Connecticut, near the mouth of the Connecticut River. Long Island Sound. Photo credit: Jerry Monkman

Infrastructure: Infrastructure at risk from flooding in Connecticut includes, but is not limited to, commercial, industrial, and residential buildings, roads, railroads, airports, and sewage treatment facilities.  The distribution of these types of infrastructure along our coast can be mapped in the Coastal Resilience tool, and impacts to these resources can be determined under various sea level rise and/or storm surge scenarios, thus identifying current infrastructure at risk. In addition, coastal resilience mapping can help planners envision the placement on new infrastructure in places that are less susceptible to future damage.

Habitats and Species

Tidal Marshes: Among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, tidal wetlands perform many functions that are highly valued by society, called “ecosystem services”. Wetlands protect coastal water quality by filtering land-derived nutrients and contaminants; they are an important component of the coastal food web; they provide valuable wildlife habitat.  Most importantly though, tidal wetlands help to defend and keep people safe from flooding and erosion associated with storms. In sum, wetlands help sustain our coastal defenses and health of our coastal ecosystem and the recreational and economic activities that depend on it.

An osprey sits on a pole above the salt marsh at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Photo credit: Jerry Monkman

Beaches and Dunes: The beaches and dunes that fringe Connecticut’s coastaline provide protection from storms and storm surge for the human communities along the mainland coast, but they also serve as unique habitats for many species.

Common terns (Sterna hirundo) in flight on the beach of Griswold Point Preserve in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Long Island Sound. Photo credit: Jerry Monkman