The Rising Tide
SEA LEVEL RISE COULD IMPERIL CORAL GABLES
Visit bayside Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables during king tides, and you’ll find the parking lot flooded. It’s an unmistakable sign of sea level rise and the vulnerability of Coral Gables, which sits on more than 40 miles of waterfront property, both on natural and man-made shores. The result could mean a loss of one-quarter of all property taxes, ruining city finances.
Coral Gables ex-mayor Jim Cason early on recognized the need for urgent action, including elevating bridges and pumps for wastewater. “It’s prudent to begin preparing for what we see already happening,” says Cason, who also knows that the costs are too great for cities to shoulder alone.
Fortunately, Miami-Dade County has also recognized the threat to Matheson, issuing a report earlier this year that showed it would cost $55 million over the next 20 years to keep the park above water, including the installation of boardwalks, floating docks, and raising the level of parking lots. Its proposed 2019 budget sets aside $4.3 million to heighten the most deteriorated of the park’s seawalls – enough to contain an additional two feet of water at high tide.
