$1.5 million worth of repairs for hurricane barriers in Fox Point will start later this month, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced today, on the wettest July 10 on record in the last century. At least one climate researcher has applauded the decision.
Rain, and with it flooding, are only expected to increase in Providence in the future, according to Baylor Fox-Kemper, a climate modeler and oceanographer at Brown University. “Floods of a particular strength are getting more and more frequent. As we go forward, we should expect the hurricane barrier to be used more and more just to protect from these increased flooding events,” said Fox-Kemper.
Fox-Kemper says there are two major climate change-caused flood threats to the city: water coming up into the city, which is caused by sea level rise, and water pouring down into the city, which is caused by increased rainfall and moisture in the air.
He said sea level rise is caused by more ocean water.
“Warmer water is bigger, and so it doesn’t fit in the ocean in the same way. That’s about half the effect. And then the ice sheets are melting and adding more water to the ocean as well,” said Fox-Kemper.
And the 1.1 extra degree of celsius the planet has experienced has led to about 6% more moisture in the air. That’s what the city is currently experiencing. According to the National Weather Service, it is the wettest July 10 of the past century.
The Fox Point Hurricane Barriers fight potential floods in both the sea level rise scenario and the extra rainfall scenario. During a storm surge, the gates can be closed, which keeps the sea water out. There’s also a pump installed to discharge excess rain and river water into the bay.
The city says right now it must close the gates manually, which it says can be a slower than ideal response time. It says the new repairs will allow it to respond to storms more quickly by automatically closing the gates.
In an emailed press statement Mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged the repairs are part of the city’s protection against climate change.
“Repairs to the hurricane barrier are long overdue and we are committed to making sure that the repairs are completed as quickly and safely as possible,” he said.
The city expects to start work on the Hurricane Barrier on July 24.
