Rising seas threaten Bay Area economy, infrastructure, environment, says most detailed study yet

A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle highlights some of the findings of the recently-released Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) Bay Area report, the most detailed study yet on how sea level rise could alter the Bay Area. The report was developed over the past three years by a project team led by BARC, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

The study analyzes the impacts of a number of different possible water levels, with an emphasis on 48 inches of sea level rise -- a number currently forecasted to be the "likely" amount that the Bay Area will face in 2120, according to the California Ocean Protection Council. 

"A 48-inch increase in the bay’s water level in coming decades could cause more than 100,000 Bay Area jobs to be relocated. Nearly 30,000 lower-income residents might be displaced, and 68,000 acres of ecologically valuable shoreline habitat could be lost," according to the article.

The article goes on to say that "...coordinated action is needed sooner rather than later — unlike how the Bay Area neglected its housing needs for decades, creating today’s high rents and mortgages that are driving lower-income residents out of the region."

Read the full Chronicle article here. The full Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) Bay Area report, along with a shorter version, is available here