Discussion Communicating Coastal Risk and Resilience 2014

All six of the proposals in the Coastal Risk and Resilience area ae about communicating impacts, but I think none of them adequately communicates the risk to resources needed for adaptation. For example, an interactive map of potential impacts of coastal risks must truly take into account more than just land directly impacted by the potential rise in sea level. It needs to take into account the lands needed for relocation of people, their infrastructure, buildings, highways, stores, schools, health and safety facilities, and their requirements (drinking water, sewage, electricity, communications). I realize that this means a massive undertaking, but a simple map of where the water might potentially go tremendously underestimates the potential risk. In Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Florida many communities rely of drinking water located in lobes of underground aquifers very close to the sea many of which will be impacted by salt water intrusion with sea level rise, even though these communities themselves may not be impacted by the rise of the waters because of local topography. We need to take into account risk to these resources when we are trying to communicate to people the risk extent and needs.

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