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They are actually building a levee on the National Mall right now so that residents of Capitol Hill don't have to pay exorbitant insurance premiums for the risk of flooding. Of course, it's behind schedule and being poorly managed like everything else the National Park Service does. The residential part of Capitol Hill is at a higher elevation than the Capitol building.
Most residents will be fine. But goodbye to Roosevelt Island, Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.
The 17th Street levee will have its initial test of installation procedures soon.
Without the levee, buildings in Federal Triangle, the east end of the mall, and nearly up to the west side of the Capitol building (not the residential neighborhood of Capitol Hill on the eastern side) would have been put in the 100-year flood zone. The center of Capitol Hill (i.e. the residential/commercial area) is at 89 feet above sea level.
We won't be losing the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson memorial.
Did you read the article you posted? It's an artist's interpretation of what the monuments would look like uinder water. They only base the assumption that it could happen on one statement:
"Could" is not definitive, and they readily admit that the "could" scenario is only present in some of the global warment scenarios. Personally, I wouldn't even be too concerned if the "could" was present in all global warment scenarios.
But, if you go to the artist's actual article, he states:
"Here's how the sea level is likely to change through time...
0 feet: Today's sea level 5 feet: 100 to 300 years 12 feet: Potential level in 2300 25 feet: Potential level in coming centuries"
So, we really shouldn't be too concerned for many upcoming centuries.
5 feet would be plenty when a storm comes up the Bay. Washington Harbor would be under water at normal high tide.
They are actually building a levee on the National Mall right now so that residents of Capitol Hill don't have to pay exorbitant insurance premiums for the risk of flooding. Of course, it's behind schedule and being poorly managed like everything else the National Park Service does.
For those curious, it's being built perpendicular to 17th St. NW, between Constitution and the WW2 memorial. You can read a lot about it here: Flooding
As others have pointed out, DC itself does have large areas near sea level, but doesn't have many coastal wetlands that could be inundated. When I first moved to Southwest, I looked into some of the adaptation planning, and found:
- the District does plan to reshape its shoreline, raising seawalls in some places and lowering them in others so that coastal wetlands (e.g., RFK's parking lots) can absorb surges and tides
- higher seawalls are included in developments like the Wharf and Yards Park
- in the far distant future, though, it would be possible to build a tidal barrier across the Potomac downstream of the city, as have been built across the Rhine-Meuse or the Thames. There's a substantial ridge east of DC, between the Anacostia and Patuxent watersheds and roughly following US 301, that could be extended across the Potomac to afford the city ample protection for centuries.
In our region, Norfolk has the most to fear since it's sinking just as fast as sea level is rising.
The 17th Street levee will have its initial test of installation procedures soon.
Without the levee, buildings in Federal Triangle, the east end of the mall, and nearly up to the west side of the Capitol building (not the residential neighborhood of Capitol Hill on the eastern side) would have been put in the 100-year flood zone. The center of Capitol Hill (i.e. the residential/commercial area) is at 89 feet above sea level.
We won't be losing the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson memorial.
How will DC deal with rising sea levels? The Potomac river will flood the city down the road if measures aren't taken. Do you see flood gates being built, or possibly draining the Potomac?
I guess we're all going to die. Because our nation forgot to count for this issue that rises first when they setup the nations capitol. ... sigh... Go online and look at the past 75 years of flood history of DC.
i think that it makes more sense to put floodgates at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Baltimore will need to be protected before Washington, and putting them there would protect all the towns in the Chesapeake
i think that it makes more sense to put floodgates at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Baltimore will need to be protected before Washington, and putting them there would protect all the towns in the Chesapeake
5 feet would be plenty when a storm comes up the Bay. Washington Harbor would be under water at normal high tide.
It's dangerous to discount what just a few feet of SLR can do, especially given that there are already seawalls (like those around Hains Point) that slip underwater twice a day. From DCist:
'In its projection, UCS says the D.C. area can "expect to average 150 to 200 tidal floods each year" by 2030. That number could reach 240 by 2045. Today, the D.C. area sees an average of 43 tidal floods per year... By 2045, Washington is projected to lead the East Coast in the number of tidal floods each year: it can expect nearly 400.'
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCforever
Land is too low and the Bay is too wide.
Yup. Plus, the Bay's ecosystem is much more sensitive to the tides than even the brackish reaches of the Potomac. Strangely, it's Hampton Roads, not the Delmarva peninsula, that'll sink first (map); the land underneath Norfolk & Virginia Beach is steadily sinking due to factors like groundwater withdrawal and the continued effects of the meteor strike that created the Bay.
Last edited by paytonc; 10-09-2014 at 10:21 AM..
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