Cambridge Applauds State Effort to Help Communities Manage Coastal Flooding

 Despite a challenging national environment for climate initiatives, Governor Maura Healey’s administration has launched a new effort to safeguard one of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable areas: the coastline. The comprehensive strategy – called the ResilientCoasts Plan – lays out an equity-focused path to protect people, homes, and infrastructure from rising seas and strong storms. If funded through the Mass Ready Act, it could save billions of dollars in damage and recovery costs. 

Scientists warn that as sea levels rise, the lower portions of the Mystic and Charles Rivers face increasingly frequent and severe coastal flooding. Without intervention, the Amelia Earhart and Charles River dams will be overtopped in coming decades, flooding urban neighborhoods from areas in Chelsea and Everett to Arlington and Watertown, including Cambridge.

The new ResilientCoasts Plan enables regional actions at a scale necessary to address the worst risks from climate change. It focuses on restoring and expanding natural defenses – like wetlands, dunes, and salt marshes – that can absorb floodwaters, as well as strengthening key infrastructure such as dams and roads. The plan also recommends studying longer-term options like elevating roads and buildings and even relocating some structures away from the most vulnerable areas.

“We may not think of Cambridge as a coastal community right now — but without action, we could be by mid-century if the dams that protect us are overtopped,” said Julie Wormser, Cambridge’s Chief Climate Officer. “We’re grateful the state launched ResilientCoasts so we can work with our neighbors to keep Boston Harbor out of our neighborhoods.”

The Plan proposes $200 million in funding through the Mass Ready Act for projects in 98 communities. The Act also mandates residents be informed about flood risks before they purchase or lease a home. It would streamline permitting for nature-based solutions, and create a new fund to provide low-interest loans for municipal projects.

Together, ResilientCoasts and Mass Ready would help Cambridge build on work it’s already done to prepare for flooding. The City was among the first communities in the country to complete a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, which identified Cambridge as highly vulnerable to coastal flooding, given that so much of it is built on former tidal marshes. In 2023, the Cambridge City Council adopted new zoning rules requiring new buildings to account for future flood risks in their design.

To help residents understand how flooding may affect their neighborhoods now and in the future, Cambridge provides a free FloodViewer tool — an online map showing potential flooding from both heavy rain and storm surge/sea level rise, based on the latest scientific models. The map was recently updated with the most recent available data. Residents can also find a checklist to prepare for flooding here.