SPI Insights

California – Officials from the Port of San Francisco outlined the $5 billion plan to rebuild the city’s seawall at the “Strategies for Storms, Flooding, and Sea Level Defense” conference on December 3 in Oakland.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has identified the city’s waterfront district as one of the most endangered historic places in the country due to seismic hazards, flood risks from rising tides, and the fragile condition of many of its historic resources.

Included in the district are lifeline infrastructure and the 3-mile Embarcadero Seawall, which anchors the historic piers. The seawall protects regional transportation infrastructure, utilities, emergency assets, and businesses but has suffered more than a century of erosion and deterioration. Once the project is complete, the seawall will help protect the city’s downtown from flooding and earthquakes.

Representatives from other ports in California and around the world convened at the conference. As rising sea levels threaten coastal infrastructure, port leaders are developing plans for multibillion projects to stem the tides.

This summer, researchers Sverre LeRoy and Richard Wiles estimated the cost to protect United States coastal populations and infrastructure from sea-level rise over the next 20 years will exceed $400 billion. They determined such a defense strategy would require building about 50,000 miles of coastal barriers in 22 states. More than $180 billion would go toward defending Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia with thousands of miles of seawall.