By Stas Margaronis
California ports are defensing against increased flooding and sea level rise to enhance future maritime operability. The ports discussed their plans at the “Storms, Flooding and Sea Level Defense 2024 Conference” that took place on November 12th, at Oakland, California.
The conference was produced by the Propeller Club of Northern California and the Society of American Military Engineers (San Francisco Post).
Climate change is driving ports to invest in more resilient infrastructure to defend against events such as the atmospheric river that hit Port of Hueneme, located in Ventura County, California.
On December 21st, 2023 the Port was hit by 8 inches of rain in two hours.
In addition, two events hurt import shipments to the Port. One was a drought hurting blueberry shipments from Peru and a second event was hurricanes hurting Mexican banana imports, according to Kristin Decas, Executive Director, Port of Hueneme
In October, Decas said that the Port was hit with an atmospheric river of rain that destroyed the Port’s shoreside power system which had cost the Port $14 million to build. It will now need to be replaced at a cost of $40 million:
“On December 21st, 2023, we had an atmospheric river of rain come through the Port area. And … it had a very small reach, but we had three inches of rain in one hour and five inches of rain in the next hour for a total of 8 inches in two hours, just in this little area of the Port. They evacuated the Navy base (Naval Base Ventura County). We had so much water that it took out our shoreside power system, just decimated it. So, what took us so much effort to build and meet those rigorous California Air Resources Board regulations was taken out in one hour which cost us 10 years ago to build for $14 million. Today, the replacement cost is $40 million.”
CALIFORNIA PORT PRESENTATIONS
The California port presentations made at the conference included:
- Kristine Zortman, Executive Director, Port of Redwood City. Zortman said a major challenge to the Port is maintaining its 30-foot ship channel draft. A lack of consistent dredging resulted in lower draft level forcing ships to shift cargoes onto barges and trucks. This not only caused double handling of cargoes (and increased emissions) but also complicated the Port’s ability to support emergency services as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with responsibility for the following events 1) Earthquake 2) Sea-level Rise 3) Terrorist Attack . The Port’s role includes 1) Deliver resources/responders, 2) Evacuate residents 3) Ferry service. Zortman has been working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to rectify this situation and ensure that annual dredging maintains the ship channel depth. The Port has also been active supporting nature-based dredging to shore up nearby wetlands so as to defend against flooding in cooperation with USACE.
- Adrienne Newbold, Assistant Chief Harbor Engineer at Port of Los Angeles noted the Port of Los Angeles has updated its resiliency plans since 2018. She noted that the Port “is committed to staying resilient to climate change” and that “early planning helps invest in the future … Sea Level Rise is a component of our general plan.” The Port will continue to monitor sea level rise focused on the following: 1) Updated SLR Projections 2) Updated Resiliency Strategies 3) Maps Through 2150 4) Groundwater Impacts 5) Case Studies 6) Design Guidelines
- Adam Varat, Deputy Program Manager, Planning, Waterfront Resilience Program, Port of San Francisco said: “The San Francisco Waterfront Flood Study is one of several adaptation efforts by City and Federal agencies to address risks and build resilience.” The study composes the following: 1) The Flood Study analyzes coastal flood risk and the effects of sea level rise to the San Francisco waterfront along the Port’s 7.5- mile jurisdiction over the next 100 years. 2) The Draft Plan will inform subsequent stages of funding and design in order to develop targeted construction projects. 3) The proposed solutions are estimated to cost $13.5 billion (high level, preliminary cost estimate) and, if approved by Congress, the Federal government may pay 65% of the cost. 4) The Flood Study is led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in collaboration with the City of San Francisco.
- Jan Novak, Associate Planner and Scientist, Environmental Programs and Planning, Port of Oakland introduced the presentation by Colleen Liang, Director of Environmental Programs and Planning, Port of Oakland. Liang spoke on the topic of “Rising Seas and Oakland’s Infrastructure and Frontline Communities: Climate Adaptation Planning for Neighborhood-led Resiliency Project.” Liang discussed the Port’s CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLANNING FOR OAKLAND’S FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES (CAPOFC) that includes analysis of: 1) Sea Level Rise 2) Groundwater Intrusion 3) Study into Oakland Frontline Communities. She explained the scope of work includes: 1) Significant Community Engagement in Study Area 2) Desktop Review and Historical Evaluation 3) Tidal Flooding Inundation Assessment 4) Groundwater Intrusion Modeling 5) Vulnerability Assessment 6) Adaptation Plan 7) Incorporation in OAAC (Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee) Subregional Adaptation Plan.
- Justin Luedy, Senior Environmental Specialist, Port of Long Beach noted climate stressors already impacting the Port complex and the Southern California region: 1) Sea level rise & storm surge – Greater frequency & magnitude of storms 2) Greater number of hot weather days – Stress on the electrical grid 3) Decision making for port staff, tenants, and stakeholders – Prioritization of staff and budgetary resources 4) The port is electrifying and energy resilience will be crucial as the climate changes. This will defend against potential for black- and brown-outs due to extreme heat. Luedy said strategies to address energy concerns include power systems resilience programs on marine terminals. These projects will add renewable energy generation and storage to enhance resilience at critical Port response facilities.
- Giles Pettifor, Director of Sustainability and Environment, Port of Hueneme submitted the Port’s climate change impact information to the conference that was referenced by Decas. He was unable to attend at the last minute.
The conference began with welcoming speeches from:
- Kristi McKenney, Chief Operating Officer, Port of Oakland
- Mike Jacob, President, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
- Captain Jordan Baldueza, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander Sector San Francisco, Captain of the Port
- Arvind Acharya, Past President, Society of American Military Engineers (S.F. Post)
- Michael McCormick, Director, Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network (BayCAN) & Neena Mohan, Staff, Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network (BayCAN)
Other presentations included:
SAN FRANCISCO MARINE EXCHANGE: EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE DESK
- Scott Humphrey, Executive Director, Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region and Chair, Harbor Safety Committee provided a progress report on the Marine Exchange’s proposed climate change early warning project. The climate change desk is designed to alert maritime users in the San Francisco Bay area about extreme climate trends and their impact on maritime operations.
Supplementary information and insights were provided by:
- Henry Ruhl, Director of CENCOOS (Central & Northern California Ocean Observing System)
- Alexander Parker, Dean, School of Letters and Sciences & Professor of Oceanography, California State University, Maritime Academy
- Paul Schulman, University of California Berkeley Professor Infrastructure Resiliency
WEATHER FORECASTING & FLOOD ADAPTATION
- Brian Garcia, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that global temperatures are rising and hurricane activity in the United States in 2024 was especially severe.
- Emily Parker, Senior Route Analyst, StormGeo, echoed Garcia noting that weather forecasting for maritime clients was becoming challenging due to worsening storms and typhoons.
Other panelists were:
- Stendert Laan, Environmental Hydrodynamics, Deltares
- Robert Butchart, Ports and Harbor Emergency Services Coordinator at the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)
- Kevin Roche, Research Engineer & Quantum Ambassador, IBM Research Almaden
