Kleinfelder has recommended that Swampscott construct barriers around the Fish House and nearby beaches to protect against rising sea levels.
The Climate Action and Resilience Committee discussed Kleinfelder’s initial report, which examined the Fish House, private seawalls, and Whales and Eisman’s beaches. Chair Martha Schmitt shared the mitigation recommendations.
Climate change is already evident in Swampscott and across the North Shore. One of the biggest impacts is the sea level rising, which, according to the Massachusetts Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health, has risen about nine inches since 1900. The water could rise another two to four feet by 2070, the bureau suggests.
This will mean more frequent flooding, even during “normal” high tides. Storm surges during nor’easters and hurricanes can be stronger as well, and all of this leads to potentially damaged roads, homes and waterfront businesses.
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management shows Swampscott’s flood risks for 2030 expanding from Humphrey Street back to Superior Street, with a lot of the New Ocean Street and Eastern Avenue area at the greatest risk.
Swampscott’s pier has sustained repeated damage from increasingly frequent and intense storms, leaving seawalls in need of continued repairs. The Fish House is the subject to a lot of the damage as well.
Kleinfelder projects the peak stillwater level could reach 13.9 feet in the coming decades.
Kleinfelder evaluated several alternatives, including seawalls at Fisherman’s Beach, improvements to private seawalls, and a more comprehensive option that also includes Whales and Eisman’s beaches. Schmitt said the first two alternatives would most likely not make a huge difference.
“Neither of those would make any difference,” Schmitt said. “It only matters when they add in the blocking from Eisman’s…There could be a few areas where water would come in…The results are somewhat inconclusive if we don’t address Eisman’s.”
Graphs Schmitt presented showed flooding would be significantly reduced if a barrier were added at Eisman’s.
The plan calls for a barrier at the Fisherman’s Beach parking lot exit and a permanent 13-foot floodwall along Humphrey Street.
At the Fish House, the proposal includes barriers at the boat launch driveways and an impermeable 13-foot wall along the building’s rear.
Schmitt said the additional work “wouldn’t cost that much more.”
Schmitt said Kleinfelder will present its final report to the Select Board. However, the firm’s contract did not require it to solicit input from abutters.
