Fort Lauderdale is trying to make itself more resilient to sea level rise.
With the city commission's final approval tonight, all newly constructed seawalls in will have to have a minimum top elevation of five feet.
"Broward County worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to determine what would be an adequate height for protecting our community from tidal impacts through the year 2070," says Assistant Public Works Director Dr. Nancy Gassman.
She stresses only new seawalls, those in significant disrepair or those sited for having tidal overflows would be required to be elevated. Most existing ones are not affected.
She admits, of the city's 165 miles of waterway, each with two banks, only about five miles of seawall is city owned. "The vast majority of sea walls and title barriers that are in our community are privately owned."
While the repair and replacement costs will be vastly on the public, "seawalls are one of our first lines of defenses to prevent tidal impact," says Dr. Gassman.
The city began raising its new seawalls to the five-foot standard a few years ago.
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)