Storm-surge barrier key to Boston Harbor communities, experts say

May 09-- May 9--BOSTON -- From a boat in the middle of Boston Harbor, William Golden pointed out gleaming skyscrapers rising all over the Seaport, shipping docks and new apartment buildings dotting the shore from Deer Island to Hull, and the natural beauty of the harbor islands -- all things he said could be lost in the decades to come if the region doesn't act soon to counter the effects of climate change.

Sea levels in the region are expected to rise 1.5 feet by 2050 and by twice that much by the end of the century, according to recent studies. But the damage has already started: In March 2018, a series of nor'easters battered the region and sent seawater surging onto streets in Quincy, Boston and beyond, destroying homes and businesses and causing millions in damage.

"We are facing two separate threats and we need a layered defense system to deal with that," Golden said.

Quincy, Weymouth and the 13 other communities along Boston Harbor have responded to the dual threats of sea level rise and storm surges by building stronger and taller sea walls, some of them extended by 2 feet or more. But Golden said that while some progress is being made on local flood defenses, until now there has been no regional plan to address the risks of storm surges, something his company, the National Institute for Coastal & Harbor Infrastructure, aims to change.

The solution, Golden said, is a storm-surge barrier much like the one that protects New Bedford's harbor. The concept of physical barriers to protect harbor areas has been studied in Houston, New York City and other areas that have experienced massive flooding from coastal storms, but it has gained little traction so far in Boston.

Last year, researchers at UMass-Boston published a study concluding that the costs of a physical barrier in Boston Harbor would outweigh the benefits. It estimated that laying 3.8 miles of flood walls from Winthrop to Hull could cost up to $8.7 billion.

But Golden, local engineers and Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch have criticized the study, calling its vision too large in scope. Instead, engineers with environmental engineering firm Tighe & Bond said they envision a barrier system extending from Deer Island to either Nut Island in Quincy or Hull.

Duncan Mellor, principal with Tighe & Bond, offered no price range when outlining his vision to community stakeholders aboard the Northern Lights vessel Wednesday, but said a less-intrusive and smaller coastal barrier flood gate system could be constructed that could provide adequate protection for the 15 communities at high risk of flooding near Boston Harbor.

He said the gate system would extend about 25 feet above the mean low tide mark. It would typically allow for tides to flow in and out and leave 250-foot-wide openings for boats to navigate through. The gates could be closed at low tide leading into a storm to reduce the risk of flooding from storm surges, he said.

Golden said it has been difficult to generate interest in further studying the feasibility of a storm-surge barrier in the wake of the UMass study.

"This is something they are doing all over the world and even here in this country," he said. "This is something that needs to be studied seriously as a legitimate solution."

Several large coastal cities already have similar sea gate systems, including London, New Orleans and Stamford, Conn. But even if the costs of building a barrier are less than predicted in UMass' study, Golden said they will still far surpass what any individual community can afford.

"We need to stop acting as silos and look at how we can get people to look at the long term and focus on this issue," he said.

Wednesday's cruise around Boston Harbor was the first step toward creating a working group to do just that. Golden gathered private investors and government officials from Quincy, Milton, Hingham, Hull and Winthrop, telling them that he was forming a regional storm-surge working group to look at a layered defense system of land-based sea walls and a regional system of protective storm-surge sea gates.

So far, Quincy has been the only community to actually invest in the idea. Last fall, the city council approved Koch's request for $100,000 to begin planning for a harbor resiliency effort.

With 27 miles of coastline and peninsulas such as Squantum and Houghs Neck jutting into the bay, Quincy sustains tremendous losses every time coastal storms batter the area, Quincy Energy and Sustainability Director Shelly Dein said.

"Quincy experiences among the highest number of repeated losses due to these storms," she said. Barriers like the one proposed by Golden can dramatically reduce flooding risk and lower and even eliminate flood insurance costs for people living behind them.

Golden, Quincy's former city solicitor and a two-time state senator, is largely credited with pioneering the effort to clean up Boston Harbor in the 1980s after he filed the lawsuit that led to the creation of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, revolutionizing the way sewage management was handled in the region. He went on to found the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay organization and says it's only fitting now that he take on this latest challenge facing the waters that he has loved and lived on his entire life.

"Hopefully, all of the other mayors around Boston will also realize it's time to make the change and realize the need to do something now. We can't wait 25 years or it will be gone. It has to be now," he said.

Reach Erin Tiernan at [email protected] or 617-786-7320. Reach her on Twitter @ErinTiernan.

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