Dredging the Coast Is Making Flooding Worse, a New Study Says
The alterations are making tides stronger, sending more water into inhabited areas.
Climate change is the main culprit behind nuisance flooding, but human alterations to coastal areas that deepen shipping channels or fill in wetlands may be exacerbating the problem by as much as 27%, according to a new study published today in the journal Science Advances.
Nuisance flooding refers to tidal-related flooding that occurs regardless of weather and causes problems such as covering roadways, overwhelming sewage systems, and flooding basements. Most people think of tides as something immutable, but recent research has shown that they’re increasing in strength worldwide. Along the eastern coast of the U.S., nuisance flooding has greatly increased in the last 100 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.