Rising sea levels threaten Delaware coast

Molly Murray in Delaware Online: At the height of a nor'easter last November, waves broke through the dunes at Indian River Inlet and flooded Del. 1. Further inland, at Oak Orchard and Riverdale, flooding was significant. And to the north, along Delaware Bay, the rushing water ripped across the sand, inundating the nearby marshes in many areas.

But here is the worst of it: "That is going to become the new normal," said Collin O'Mara, state secretary of natural resources and environmental control. O'Mara's staff, using sophisticated elevation data and specialized photography, has created a map of Delaware that shows the areas already vulnerable to flooding in extreme high tides. In addition, the map includes three scenarios for tidal flooding and inundation amid rising sea levels projections.

…The realization that Delaware is vulnerable -- even with a modest sea level rise projection -- prompted O'Mara to draft a policy that could impact how the environmental agency conducts habitat construction and renovation projects. "It's changing the way we do business," he said.

O'Mara's Sea Level Rise policy gives his staff 12 to 18 months to develop a vulnerability assessment for the agency's land and property holdings and assets, to identify the risks from inundation and to come up with plans to increase resiliency and adaptability. "It really is going to alter the coast," he said. "It's scary."…

A view of the Indian River Bay from Holts Landing State Park, Sussex County, Delaware. Shot by SheepNotGoats, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license