Chatham County preparing for impacts of climate change

Oct. 20--Chatham County is planning for rising sea levels in order to mitigate flooding impacts and possibly help property owners with their flood insurance costs.

On Friday, Chatham County Commissioners approved a $78,092 Coastal Incentive Grant to cover the costs of a study to determine the impacts of sea level rise on the county's storm infrastructure.

The study being conducted by Savannah-based Ecological Planning Group includes coordination with county and city officials, data gathering, modelling and analysis, and identification of impact areas and capital improvement projects that can address the impacts.

Everyone agrees sea level rise is coming, said County Engineer Leon Davenport.

"We can plan development in the area and land uses such that we can avoid any impacts to those properties in the future," Davenport said. "Or if necessary, we can say there are restrictions to what you can do in these areas."

The project also includes coordinating with FEMA to meet Community Rating Standards to achieve a Class 4 rating, which would result in an additional 5 percent discount on flood insurance policies for residents living in the Special Flood Hazard area, according to county officials.

The study comes after Moody's Investors Service reported in November 2017 that the credit analysis considers the effects of climate change when it is believed a meaningful credit impact is highly likely to occur and not be mitigated by issuer actions. Such unmitigated events can result in increased financial obligations and debt which will affect the county's credit worthiness.

In other actions, the commission:

(ASTERISK) Approved a Community Oriented Policing Services grant in the amount of $306,911 to provide funding for school safety measures within the community.

(ASTERISK) Approved a $5,000 PetSafe Bark For Your Park grant for improvements to the Mother Mathilda Beasley Dog Park. The green space off East Broad Street is the only off leash dog park in downtown and heavy use over the last 10 years has diminished the park's condition. The funds are expected to go towards park expansion, a new shade structure, ground surfacing improvements, and a separate area for smaller dogs.

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