Implementation of nature-based solution will reduce flood risk in environmental justice neighborhood in Boston, where sea level rise and chronic flooding pose significant threats to communities.
Boston, Massachusetts: $24.06 Million
History
Moakley Park in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest city park located along Boston Harbor. The park provides green space access to some of Boston’s most disadvantaged communities. In order to ensure longevity of the park, as well as other communities and green spaces along the Boston Harbor, in 2016 the city of Boston began developing coastal hazard risk reduction plans across the shoreline of the Boston Harbor as part of the Climate Ready Boston program.
Project Description
The project protects an environmental justice neighborhood with critical assets and infrastructure against current risks as well as most major coastal storms under an anticipated 51.5 inches of sea level rise through approximately 2070. The proposed project includes an earthen berm (approximately 2,500 feet long) with a core wall, as well as stormwater management improvements and other complementary coastal protection strategies at Moakley Park. The elevated berm and coastal landscape elements mitigate the risks of coastal storms and stormwater flooding events. A nature-based solution would protect the park and surrounding infrastructure, neighborhoods, evacuation routes and other critical infrastructure and lifelines from current and projected risks. The project team has involved and partnered with many city and state partners to enhance the project’s design and functionality. The project partners include the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC).