Concerns rise with the seas: protecting coast, while facing realities

December 7, 2006, The Post and Courier , Charleston SC
by David Slade

People have been flocking to the coast in South Carolina and other states, putting more and more of the population potentially in harm's way at a time when rising sea levels and powerful storms are seen as an increasing threat.

"Just the name, 'the Lowcountry,' should send shivers down our spines," said Strachan Donnelley, president of the Center for Humans and Nature. "There will be suffering."

Insurance companies have been reacting to the perceived threats to coastal property by raising rates, but what should the people who live on the coast, and their governments, be doing?

In Charleston on Wednesday, the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment kicked off a 30-month project aimed at making coastal populations less vulnerable to natural disasters, while balancing economic, social and environmental needs.

Among the scientists, environmentalists, state regulators, business leaders and local officials present for the six-hour symposium, ideas proposed for dealing with rising seas ranged from educating the public to abandoning all the land east of U.S. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant.

There was no clear consensus, except an agreement that coastal residents face a looming problem as sea levels rise, partially because of global warming.

"You know it's going on, but you barely see evidence of it, but later on it's going to rise up like an iceberg," said state Attorney General Henry McMaster, who spoke at a breakfast meeting of symposium organizers.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's most recent estimate says the sea level in Charleston will likely rise 19 inches this century, and scientists have been predicting a decades-long cycle of more active hurricane seasons. Some scientists also believe warming seas will make hurricanes more powerful.

Panelist Hugh Lane, president of the Bank of South Carolina, said his bank has avoided writing mortgages for beach properties for many years. He said the impact of rising seas on the state's tourism economy could be devastating.

Robert Ball, an infectious disease consultant for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, said higher temperatures and warmer seas could mean more problems with toxic algae, mosquitoes and infectious diseases such as malaria.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who attended a portion of the meeting, sought to focus on the need for regional land use planning.

"The pressures on our coast will continue unabated," Riley said. "The sea level rise adds a whole new level of complication."

Bluffton Mayor Hank Johnston said South Carolina's General Assembly has been a roadblock in addressing coastal concerns.

"One of the biggest issues we have is our own General Assembly," he told the more than 100 people at the symposium. "This is a serious issue, and it's something that needs action now."

No state lawmaker attended the gathering at the Francis Marion Hotel, where two groups of panelists discussed the impacts of storms and rising seas.

Rising sea levels contribute to beach erosion, which has been an expensive proposition in South Carolina. Beach renourishment projects can replace lost sand, but are a temporary fix.

Carolyn Boltin, a DHEC deputy commissioner in the Office of Coastal Resource Management, said $144 million has been spent on beach renourishment projects in South Carolina since 1990. Sea walls are no longer allowed by OCRM, because they've been found to make erosion worse rather than better.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that if sea levels rise as predicted, South Carolina could spend between $1.2 and $9.4 billion during this century on beach renourishment.

"Situations like this are only going to get worse," said Boltin, after showing the audience dramatic photographs of erosion at the Wild Dunes resort on Isle of Palms. "Sea level rise and global warming will only compound what we are seeing now."

Braxton Davis, director of science and policy for OCRM, said the effectiveness of different solutions is being studied, but options are limited. Beach renourishment is not a long-term solution, and development on the coast blocks the natural inland migration of shoreline and marsh.

Where development does not stand in the way, marshes can move inland as the sea level rises, or rise themselves on accreted soil, as long as the sea level rise isn't too quick.

Unfortunately, the sea level is rising faster than studies have indicated marshes can accrete, according to Jim Morris, director of the Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Science at the University of South Carolina.

"We know that marshes have not kept track with recent levels of sea rise in South Carolina," he said.

Chris Marsh, executive director of The Lowcountry Institute, made the most provocative suggestions of the day.

Marsh suggested that the hydroelectric dams on the Santee River be demolished in order to increase the flow of sediment that builds up the barrier islands, and that people living between the ocean and Interstate 17 in Mount Pleasant should be relocated and that area set aside for marshes to migrate inland.

"Rising sea level is not a future issue, any more than aging is," said Marsh. "Time is rapidly closing in on our ability to respond."

Jim Baker, chairman of the steering committee for the Nation's Coasts project, said the goal in the coming months will be to educate and build consensus on the actions needed in coastal communities.