Pacific Institute: Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on the California Coast

  
May 2009 REPORT: The Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on the California Coast

This analysis was prepared for three California state agencies and it estimates that 480,000 people; a wide range of critical infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals, schools, and emergency facilities; vast areas of wetlands and other natural ecosystems; and nearly $100 billion in property along the California coast are at increased risk from flooding from a 1.4-meter sea-level rise – if no adaptation actions are taken. 

  

San Mateo County and Orange County have the highest number of residents vulnerable to sea-level rise in the state of California. 

Sea-level Rise MAPPING:  

http://www.pacinst.org/reports/sea_level_rise/PDF/Fig16_Population_Inundation_CA.pdf http://www.pacinst.org/reports/sea_level_rise/gmap.html

California State Lands Commission Report: Sea Level Rise Preparedness

   
December 2009 REPORT: Report on Sea Level Rise Preparedness
  
The California State Lands Commission has jurisdiction over all ungranted tidelands and sub-merged lands within the state. Such lands include, but are not limited, to the beds of more than 120 navigable rivers and sloughs, nearly 40 navigable lakes, tidal bays, inlets, straits, lagoons and estuaries, and the three-mile wide band of tide and submerged lands adjacent to the coast and offshore islands of the State. 
  
California State Lands Commission Recommendations:

4. Consider amending the Commission’s Application Package to require that all new coastal development projects consider the implications of and include adaptation strategies for projected sea level rises of 16” and 55”, depending on the projected life expectancy of the project.

5. Where appropriate, staff should recommend project modifications that would eliminate or reduce potentially adverse impacts from sea level rise, including adverse impacts on public access.

6. Adopt engineering design standards requiring major facilities to withstand a defined storm event, such as a 100-year storm, taking into account sea level rise over the life of the project.

(page: 26)