Lead Agency:
Earth Systems Research Center

Primary Contact:
Fay Rubin

Sponsor(s):
Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology

Start Date - End Date
08/01/2009 - 06/30/2012

Description:
Coastal communities are confronting the effects of rapid development and associated land use change, while also dealing with the serious impacts of a changing climate. Both factors influence the frequency and magnitude of flood events. As such, local decisionmakers and regional planners are seeking improved scientific information regarding flood risk in the context of climate change to use as a basis for guiding development and planning infrastructure investments. In New Hampshire, as in other coastal states, this information has not been readily available at local scales.

To address this gap, this project developed and refined a methodology for assessing flood risk associated with land use and climate change scenarios, implemented the methodology for the Lamprey River watershed of Great Bay, NH, and demonstrated the use of associated products to support land use decision-making in coastal communities. The core analyses and outputs for this project include maps at the watershed and municipality scale of the 100-year flood risk boundaries and river discharge at specific locations under selected scenarios. As a result, decision-makers and the public within the watershed have access to new information regarding local flood risk, and have been educated about how past and potential future land use patterns and climate change will influence the frequency and spatial extent of flooding.

For further information about the project, please contact Dr. Cameron Wake, or visit the project website at http://100yearfloods.org.

To request shapefiles of project results, please contact Fay Rubin.

Document(s):