10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

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MIAMI BEACH OCTOBER 23, 2015

Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides

iSTORY BY JOEY FLECHAS AND JENNY STALETOVICH

jflechas@miamiherald.com

VIDEO AND IMAGES BY EMILY MICHOT

emichot@miamiherald.com

The sea started boiling up into the street. A major Miami Beach road was under water. Tourists sloshed to hotels through saltwater up to theirshins, pants rolled up, suitcases in one hand, shoes in the other.

But one corner of Miami Beach stayed perfectly dry. In Sunset Harbour, which has historically flooded during seasonal high tides, the water washeld at bay last month by a radically re-engineered streetscape that will be put to the test again this week with another king tide.

The design — featuring a street and sidewalk perched on an upper tier, 2 ½ feet above the front doors of roadside businesses, and backed by ahulking nearby pump house — represents what one city engineer called "the street of tomorrow."

The city’s effort, so far a success, is test of engineering solutions to sea rise

‘Street of the future’ has two tiers and is very expensive

If climate projections hold true, entire region will face flood-control overhaul

HIGHLIGHTS

  

1 of 21

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

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 This foundation for Miami Beach’s future is actually a complicated and expensive experiment: As much as $500 million to install 80 pumps andraise roads and seawalls across the city. A first phase appears to be working, at least for now. But just one year into a massive public works projectthat could take six more, it’s way too soon to say whether and for how long it can keep the staggeringly valuable real estate of an internationaltourist mecca dry — especially in the face of sea level rise projections that seem to only get scarier with every new analysis.

"We don’t have a playbook for this," said Betsy Wheaton, assistant building director for environment and sustainability in Miami Beach.

But in many ways, Miami Beach is writing just that — the first engineering manual for adapting South Florida’s urban landscape to rising seas. Theentire southern tip of the peninsula tops climate change risk lists but Beach leaders have acted with the most urgency, waiving competitive biddingand approving contracts on an emergency basis to fast-track the work. Tidal flooding lapping at posh shops and the yards of pricey homes makes apersuasive argument that climate change isn’t only real, but a clear and present threat.

Read more about Miami Beach fast-tracking sea level rise projects without competitive bids

The vulnerability of the low-lying western edge of the "billion dollar sandbar’’ — real estate that pioneering developer Carl Fisher literally dredgedup from Biscayne Bay —is topped only by the Florida Keys, where even a half-foot more ocean will inundate large chunks of some islands like BigPine. That’s sobering when a conservative projection from a regional climate change compact predicts at least two feet by 2060. A study releasedthis month, factoring in new data on unchecked greenhouse gas emissions, predicts a potential five-foot rise.

"We’re looking at fairly substantial, very hard decisions," said Rhonda Haag, Monroe County’s chief of sustainability. "All is not lost. We’re goodfor the next 15 years but we’re doing as much as we can to prepare in advance.”

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

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Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, along with Monroe, are part of a landmark 2009 compact that acknowledged the reality ofclimate change — a major achievement on a politically divisive issue. But on the mainland, where it may take a few more decades to see theinland thrust of tidal flooding already happening in the Keys and on the Beach, there has been a lot more talking than doing.

That’s largely because — as the Beach’s ambitious endeavor underlines — rebuilding South Florida to survive rising seas will come at considerablecost. Each Beach pumps runs $2 to $3 million, a relative pittance. Overhauling major flood canal gates and pumps along the Miami-Dade coastcould be hundreds of times more costly. In the long term looms the daunting, big-dollars prospect of raising homes, roads, buildings. It will alladd up to billions.

Then there are the ripple effects of years of construction, traffic jams and potential environmental damage — the still undetermined consequencesof pumping runoff tainted by fertilizer, dog poop and road spills into Biscayne Bay or deep underground beneath a fresh water aquifer that willalso shrink as the ocean encroaches. Just trying to coordinate such a massive effort between governments can be hugely complex.

“You look around and say show me a project and we still have a hard time,” said Jennifer Jurado, director of Broward County’s division of NaturalResources Planning and Management. “Part of the problem is it’s not uniform or comprehensive in the approach.”

For now, the effort on the Beach is the best test of the potential for pumps, pipes and asphalt to keep the rest of South Florida dry into the nextcentury.

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 4/13

 

Old problem getting worse

Any Beach old-timer will tell you the city has flooded for decades during king tides — the same thing happens in much of low-lying Florida. But allthe data and tide gauges confirm it’s getting worse.

"The king tides have gotten higher in recent years," said Colin Polsky, director of the center for environmental studies at Florida AtlanticUniversity. "And the king tides we’re seeing more recently have been higher than they were predicted to be."

On the Beach, damage to cars, businesses and homes from flooding — both from high tides and rains — had steadily mounted. "During a flashflood in June 2009, we lost 47 vehicles in our garage," said Ron Wolff, who lives at the Mirador 1200 condo tower on West Avenue.

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 5/13

With flooding growing from occasional annoyance to economic concern, in 2012 the city crafted a bold blueprint for overhauling an antiquatedstormwater system that relied on gravity to drain into the bay. Higher tides increasingly backed up the drain pipes and even reversed the flow,turning the system into a conduit to pump seawater up through sewer grates onto heavily traveled arteries like Alton Road.

A new commission and mayor in 2013 has pushed to replumb the city even faster, dropping an initial idea to drill underground injection wellswith fewer environmental risks. The new system collects flood waters, screens out large debris like plastic bottles and pumps it back out intoBiscayne Bay through one-way valves known as backflow preventers that keep rising Biscayne Bay waters from flooding drainage pipes. The planalso calls for raising seawalls, most of which are on private property, and raising some roads.

The first new pumps, powerful enough to constantly slurp the flooding tide and spit it back out into Biscayne Bay, were installed last year in someof the city’s worst hot spots: Alton Road, West Avenue, Sunset Harbour and Crespi Boulevard in North Beach. They’ve kept roads dry through afirst round of fall tides.

 

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 6/13

 

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 7/13

 But even Mayor Philip Levine, the biggest cheerleader of efforts to "rise above” sea level rise, would acknowledge that pumps alone represent atemporary fix – a 30- to 40-year buffer. If future projections hold true, more roads will have to be raised — along with buildings — as the rising seapushes up through the porous limestone sponge underlying much of South Florida. First floors might have to be vacated, rusting infrastructurereplaced, codes and building elevations dramatically beefed up.

Flooding in other neighborhoods during high tides also makes it clear there’s a long way to go beyond the $100 million first phase.

"We haven’t solved anything yet," said Miami Beach Public Works Director Eric Carpenter. "We’re getting there, and we’re trying to deal with asmany neighborhoods as we can."

The scope of work needed even for a relatively small city like Miami Beach, home to about 90,000 permanent residents but far more visitors, ishuge, requiring tearing up streets and disrupting traffic across the barrier island.

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 8/13

WEST AVENUE WILL BE RAISED NEXT. UPCOMING DRAINAGE WORK: LOWER NORTH BAY ROAD, NORMANDY ISLE, LAGORCE, AND PALM, HIBISCUS & VENETIAN ISLANDS

The seawall along Indian Creek Drive — the city’s new ground zero for what Levine calls "sunny-day flooding" — also needs to be replaced.Property owners across the street are responsible for most of the wall, so owners will have to work with the city to make the upgrades. IndianCreek Drive and Collins Avenue are maintained by the state, so the Florida Department of Transportation has to step in. DOT spokeswomanIvette Ruiz-Paz said in an email that five pump stations are currently under analysis but the agency hasn’t produced cost estimates yet or saidwhen its analysis will be done.

The daunting cost of resiliency

So far, despite the mounting science and the flooding scenes playing out in South Florida, Tallahassee has largely ignored resiliency planning andprojects, particularly the costs. Just this year, Gov. Rick Scott — who has largely dodged the climate change issue throughout his tenure — vetoed$750,000 for the Beach’s pump program.

The reason? The project "does not provide a clear return on investment."

Scott might be well served by talking to Beach hotel and business owners. During one of the tidal floods last month, a supervisor at the AldenHotel on Indian Creek Drive handed out plastic trash bags for guests to wrap around their legs as they stepped down into floodwaters in front ofthe hotel. The higher-than predicted floods hurt profits.

"We’ve had cancellations. Some people have left early," said Jennifer Hernandez, adding that she couldn’t blame them. "They came here onvacation, and this is what they get."

$400-$500 million is the estimated cost of Miami Beach’s sea rise projects

Beyond the strident politics of climate change, the high cost of re-engineering and rebuilding for impacts still decades down the road representsthe biggest hurdle for policy makers and planners. Most notably, Miami-Dade County, decided to rebuild an aging and leak-prone sewage plant onVirginia Key — as vulnerable to sea rise as Miami Beach — because moving it would cost an additional $3 billion. It took considerable pressurefrom environmental groups during Miami-Dade’s recent budget process to get $300,000 earmarked for engineering work to help the countyprepare its infrastructure. That’s just money for planning, not actually building anything.

On the Beach, problems were big enough that political leaders were willing to risk raising rates on residents to pay for it. What was initiallyprojected as a $200 million overhaul is now estimated at between $400 and $500 million. The money will come from residents who paystormwater fees, taxes and — if there is political support — from the state and federal governments.

Beach commissioners raised stormwater rates by 84 percent last year to secure $90 million worth of bonds to start work in the fall of 2014, whenpumps quickly went in along the southwestern shore of the barrier island. The cost to the typical resident rose from $9.06 to $16.67 per month.

And those rates will likely keep going up in the future. Bond rating agency Moody’s gave the bond issuance a negative outlook because ofanticipated debt in the future, coupled with a need for rate hikes. This could ultimately impact the city’s credit rating.

Though the Beach is far out front, most experts believe the entire region will require a massive investment. Harvey Ruvin, Miami-Dade County’sclerk of courts and chair of a county task force on sea level rise, told a room full a real estate agents at a recent conference that regional leadersneed to start planning now and implementing solutions now.

People all over the world want a piece of South Florida. But will they still want it if they don’t think we can keep our heads above water?

"We have too much at stake to question whether we should embark upon this adaptation mission," he said. "We got $6 trillion worth of builtenvironment."

A model for South Florida’s future

The rest of coastal South Florida is closely watching what works — and doesn’t — on the Beach.

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 9/13

Sandwiched between the ocean and the low-lying Everglades, the mainland response to climate change will be far trickier. It’s not just a matter ofstopping floods. The region will also have to take steps to protect its water supply — the Biscayne aquifer is one of the most porous on the planet,highly vulnerable to saltwater intrusion. Any flood control measures will also have to factor in $10 billion in Everglades restoration work intendedto fix the ailing river of grass that once supplied much of the region’s freshwater and has withered to less than half its historic flow.

SOUTH FLORIDA SITS ATOP THE BISCAYNE AQUIFER, MADE OF POROUS LIMESTONE, WHICH IS VULNERABLE TOSALTWATER INTRUSION

On top of that, efforts need to be coordinated so that one city’s efforts don’t undo work by say, water managers. A big step will come whengovernments start changing building codes, something that will take a lot of political will.

“Developers have said to me, ‘We will not self regulate. We need leadership from our government,” said Miami-Dade County CommissionerDaniella Levine Cava, who was elected last year and is teaming up with Commissioner Rebecca Sosa to bridge the political divide and moveforward on a suite of resolutions Miami-Dade County passed earlier this year.

What’s still lacking, said Levine Cava, who was in Washington this week meeting with lawmakers and the Everglades caucus, is a sense ofurgency.

“It’s not so much denial that it’s not true,” she said. “It’s denying the urgency.”

But nature seems to be increasingly making the case. This past king tide, parts of Key Largo were flooded with knee deep water for more than twoweeks. One angry resident, a lawyer, is investigating a class action. A recent model by the U.S. Geological Survey shows saltwater intrusion withina half mile of the South Dade wellfields that supply freshwater to all of the Keys.

“We’re getting to the point where we can determine that there are certain areas where certain influences are stronger than others,” said DorothySifuentes, a supervisory hydrologist at USGS’s Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center in Davie.

What that means is that in some areas, saltwater may sneak into the aquifer through canals. In others, it may push in from the ocean.

The South Florida Water Management District, whose pumps and flood control structures play a key role in keeping the region dry and drinkingwater safe, identified 20 vulnerable pumps six years ago. But with five years of budget cuts, only one pump has been fixed. The district is now inthe midst of a second study to assess structures at risk.

“We need to understand what is the true level of service today with this changed condition, and when I say changed I mean land use now —notwhat they used at the time — and sea level rise. Perhaps the rainfall patterns have changed too,” said Jayantha Obeysekera, who overseesmodeling for the district. “Before we come up with the solution. we need to understand the present vulnerabilities of the system.”

Knowing the general threat from sea level rise is one thing. But now governments find themselves trying to nail down the nitty gritty needed forspecific changes.

“It is a lengthy, laborious planning process but if you don’t have those types of investments made how do you defend against projects andincreasing costs so it just doesn’t seem arbitrary,” Jurado said.

The ripple effects of resiliency

So far, the work on the Beach has succeeded at keeping more streets dry. But questions and ripple effects abound.

Critics of the pumps — including residents who have seen clouds of murky bay water near the outfalls — have argued that pumping water withoutchemical treatment will cause problems for marine life in Biscayne Bay.

City officials say the murk is simply sediment kicked up as pumps gush water at high pressure into the bay. They also argue the drainage system iscleaner than the old one, now at least screening out gutter trash like bags and plastic bottles.

Preliminary water sampling late last year by Florida International University researchers showed nutrient levels in some parts of the bay were sixtimes higher than before high tides kicked on the pumps, which could trigger toxic algae blooms. Scientists will be out there again on Tuesday,during the next king tide, to test pollution levels.

"We want to know if the waters are good quality," said FIU hydrologist Henry Briceño, who is working with the city to examine the test results. "Ifthere’s any problem, the city will have to do something."

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 10/13

 Then there is the nightmare of seemingly unending construction.

The Beach has long had traffic issues, especially on weekends. But the storm water overhaul has made jams an everyday occurrence, particularlyin South Beach. Torn up sidewalks and roaring construction equipment have turned strolls to the store into loud, dusty, unpleasant treks.

Building the "street of the future," it turns out, has made for a difficult present for many businesses.

"It was tedious, with the construction, to keep the numbers up," said Antonio Villa del Rey, manager at Azul Spirits and Wines at 1414 20thStreet. The sidewalk outside his front door now lies two feet below the road. He was at first skeptical, worried the flooding would fill the lowerwalkway. But road and sidewalk remained dry during the most recent high tide.

"Surprisingly, the system seems to be holding up," he said.

Joey Flechas: 305-376-3602, @joeflech

Jenny Staletovich: 305-376-2109, @jenstaletovich

This is the first of a two-part series on sea level rise. Up next: How climate change affects the make up of South Florida’s water.

RELATED CONTENT• Video: Miami Beach waging a battle against sea level rise

• Miami Beach skips public bids to move fast on sea rise projects

10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 11/13

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Jim W. Harper · Copywriter at Nova Southeastern UniversityGood video. But still no mention of Miami's Peoples Climate March last week, the largest in the country? The community is more than the beach.Like · Reply · 23 hrs

Virgil Sandberg · Grand Valley State UniversityI saw nothing about it, guess they don't want to give out that type of information.Like · Reply · 15 hrs

Chris Fellion · El Camino High School (Oceanside)Biscayne aquifer, MiamiDadeCounty’s main source of water supplies, islocated just a few feet below the surface, your city and county is sinking, the ocean is not rising. You are pumping millions of acre feet more out than is goingin and the place is sinking. That is one reason the agency is closing down three of the outfalls as they hope to recycle the waste water to your tap.

Like · Reply · 1 · 13 hrs

Louis Mitchell · Sacramento City CollegeGreat Article ... I'm surprised there are so few commentsLike · Reply · 16 hrs

Paul McGuinness · E-Sales at Self Employed and Loving It!Daunting costs that will not be paid. Dreams are good though. Disney has done well.Like · Reply · 16 hrs

Chris Fellion · El Camino High School (Oceanside)Miami does not have an ocean rise problem and never has. what it does have is a subsidence problem caused by all those millions of people pumping out thegroundwater and the land sinking. Here is an example of New Orlean and Galveston http://www.nola.com/.../shifting_doorframes_cracking_d.html and Galvestonhttp://hgsubsidence.org/.../07/SubsidenceMap1906-2000.pdf

Nobody in Florida is ready to admit the real problem as that bring it back to responsibility and no polititian in Florida is willing to say they made a bad decision unlikeTexas which established a unit to help fix Galvestons pr... See MoreLike · Reply · 13 hrs

Bud WilsteadBlaming somone else may not be honest, but it is always far easier.

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10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 12/13

Blaming somone else may not be honest, but it is always far easier.Like · Reply · 8 hrs

Micco Mann · University of MiamiBest investigative reporting this rag has done in a long, long time. The video and graphs were exceptional. Re the "turbidity" response, there is no way the pumpstations are filtering street contaniments like oil, gasoline, and coolants on the roads but didn't those things run off into the bay anyway? Let's hope it's just turbidity. Rethe Alton Road makeover-from-hell, now that it's finished, it sure isn't the "street of the future." It's not much higher than the old one and sidewalks were not raised. Iguess the solution there is the pumping stations. Hope they never break down when needed the most.Like · Reply · 13 hrs

John CorinaThe closer the Moon is to the Earth, the greater the gravitational pull and the higher the tides and greater variation between high and low tides. With the current lunarorbit recession rate of 3.8cm per year, the tidal effects will gradually diminish over time. The recession is caused by the angular momentum and kinetic energy of thetidal bulges and the difference in Earth's rotation and the Moon's orbit around the Earth. The height of the tidal bulges was greater in the past when the Moon wascloser to the Earth and will be lessor in the future as the Moon recedes farther away. (The recession rate is not constant over long periods of time but was faster in thepast and will be slower in the future.) Of course at this rate, it will take many years to see a noticable difference; however, a more distant lunar orbit does mean lowertidal bulges and should eventually result in less flooding during full Moon at perigee.

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10/24/2015 Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides | Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html 13/13

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