Resilience along the West Coast

The document is a transcript of a congressional briefing on West Coast coastal resilience. Experts from the USGS, California coastal agencies, and the Puget Sound region discuss the physical drivers of sea level rise, the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, and various adaptation strategies. Key discussions include the 'coastal squeeze' effect on beaches, the use of nature-based 'soft shore' stabilization in Washington, and the implementation of regional planning and environmental justice policies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Sea level rise is driven primarily by the 'steric effect' (ocean expansion due to heat absorption) and the melting of land-based ice sheets and glaciers, each contributing roughly half of the observed rise over the last century.
• Projections for the next century suggest an average sea level rise of about three feet, though the upper limit could reach ten feet. If global temperatures equilibrate to 2 degrees Celsius, sea levels could eventually rise by 26 feet.
• Along the California coast, between 200,000 and 600,000 people and $40-150 billion in property could be exposed to flooding over the next century, representing a potential risk of 2 to 6 percent of GDP.
• Critical infrastructure at risk on the West Coast includes sewage treatment plants, major international airports (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego), the Port of Seattle and Tacoma, the ports of LA and Long Beach, and Department of Defense facilities such as Naval Base Kitsap.
• The 'coastal squeeze' occurs when rising seas and upland development pin beaches in place, preventing their natural landward migration and potentially drowning up to half of some Southern California beaches.
• Rising sea levels cause the groundwater table to rise, which can lead to flooding from below even in areas protected by walls or berms, and may increase the risk of soil liquefaction during earthquakes.
• California's coastal management employs three primary adaptation strategies: protection (e.g., seawalls), accommodation (e.g., elevating homes on caissons), and retreat (both planned and unplanned).
• The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) has pivoted from stopping bay fill to managing a growing bay, recently adopting amendments to allow 'fill for habitats' (such as horizontal levees) and to integrate environmental justice and social equity into its policies.
• In Puget Sound, the 'Shore Friendly' program uses social marketing and technical assistance to encourage homeowners to replace damaging hard shoreline armor with 'soft shore stabilization' techniques using beach nourishment, logs, and plants.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2019). Resilience along the West Coast. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_120419.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Resilience along the West Coast. 2019. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_120419.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Resilience along the West Coast |date=December 2019 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_120419.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2019resilience, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Resilience along the West Coast}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_120419.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }