Ron Brackett
Nuisance flooding during a high tide spreads water around a park bench and sidewalk along the Tidal Basin in Washington on July 2, 2019. That year, Washington had about 42 fewer nuisance flooding days because of decreased tidal range, a University of Central Florida study found.Changes to coastlines and estuaries through methods like dredging and development are likely causing more nuisance flooding days in the United States and could exacerbate the effects of sea level rise, a new study finds.
The human alterations can cause tide ranges, the difference in height between high tide and low tide, to increase in some areas and decrease in others, according to the study published in the journal Science Advances.
Researchers found that nearly half of the 40 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tidal gauge locations used in the University of Central Florida study had more nuisance flooding days because of higher local tide ranges.
"It's the first time that the effects of tidal changes on nuisance flooding were quantified, and the approach is very robust as it is based purely on observational data and covers the entire coastline of the U.S. mainland," study co-author Thomas Wahl, an assistant professor in UCF's Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, said in a news release.
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Nuisance flooding is minor flooding in coastal communities that happens at high tide. It generally doesn't cause major damage, but it can swamp low-lying roads, back up storm drains and wash over sea walls, according to NOAA. Over time, however, the effects can add up and cause substantial problems with transportation and other infrastructure.
Incidents of nuisance flooding have risen 100% since 30 years ago, NOAA said. Rising sea levels caused by climate change are the biggest reason for the increase.
“In Miami, nuisance flooding now happens 150 days a year,” Wahl told Bloomberg. “The accumulated costs from disruption to business and damage to infrastructure could easily outpace the impact of a once in a year hurricane.”
Of the 40 tidal gauge records the study examined, nuisance flooding increased at 18 locations because of tidal amplification. These locations have seen an average of 13 additional nuisance flooding days a year.
Less nuisance flooding was seen at 11 locations where the tidal range decreased.
The biggest changes were seen in estuaries, and those could often be traced to human alterations, like deepening a shipping channel, the study said.
Wilmington, North Carolina, for example, saw 123 additional nuisance flooding days in 2019 because of changes in the tidal range, according to the study. The tidal range largely increased because of channel deepening.
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On the other hand, Washington saw about 42 fewer nuisance flooding days in 2019 because of tidal range reduction.
"Seeing how many nuisance flooding events occurred in the past and are happening today simply because of tidal changes should be motivation for us to keep alterations to sensitive estuarine systems at a minimum as to not further exacerbate the problem, which we already face because of sea level rise," Wahl said. "We should at least be aware of these potentially negative impacts in the planning phase of alteration projects, and it might even be possible to reverse some of the negative impacts from past decisions."
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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