The Los Angeles Times reported today on a study whose import is captured in this headline: New Bay Area maps show hidden flood risk from sea level rise and groundwater.
Much of the Bay Area is built on flood plains, natural and human-built, often only inches above the groundwater level. I've long been aware of this from building concrete foundations under existing houses in the Berkeley flatlands in my past life as an earthquake retrofit contractor.
Sea level rise as a consequence of global warming means more ocean is actually pushing up from underneath current freshwater levels.
I hadn't realized how common this condition was all around the Bay -- the article is illustrated with photos of flooding in Mill Valley.
This snippet of map shows particularly vulnerable areas in my part of the city; darker red areas show where the current water table is closest to ground level, but even the yellow areas are only 6-9 feet above current sea levels. As the sea rises, we can expect the low-lying red areas to grow larger and groundwater to break through more often as flooding.
“People still tend to think of these things as isolated terrible things, rather than as part of a collective shift … in what the future might hold,” she said. “We live in nature and too often think of ourselves as separate from it … but nature is still very much in charge.” -- Chris Choo - planning manager for Marin County
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