BCDC Preparing Online Sea Level Rise/Flooding Mapping Tool--BIA Members Have Opportunity to Review How Specific Properties Will Be Mapped and Provide Input

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) is developing a website to host interactive maps of sea level rise and flooding in San Francisco Bay. The website, called the Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) Bay Area Flood Explorer, will include a new set of sea level rise and flood scenario maps developed by BCDC’s ART Program and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in order to support sea level rise adaptation planning in the Bay Area. The mapping tool is currently in internal agency beta testing. The issue of mapping potential future shoreline inundation of areas is an important one for BIA's members and BIA Bay Area has been monitoring this effort along with other stakeholders and provided input and suggestions as part of the development process. Perhaps most significantly, at BIA's request, BCDC has included the following prominent "disclaimer" language in the online mapping tool and in summary documents [attached] so that stakeholders and members of the public have a clear understanding of the intended uses.

DISCLAIMER
The inundation maps and the associated analyses provide a regional-scale illustration of coastal flooding due to specific sea level rise and storm surge scenarios, and are intended to improve sea level rise awareness and preparedness to support regional adaptation planning efforts. The maps are not detailed to the parcel-scale and should not be used for navigation, permitting, regulatory, project review, mitigation, or other legal uses. Flooding due to sea level rise and storm surges is possible in areas outside of those predicted in these maps, and the maps do not guarantee the safety of an individual or structure. While the maps use the best data available to capture topographic features (e.g., berms, tide gates) they may not capture other infrastructure improvements (e.g., pumps) designed to reduce future flood extent. The maps do not model flooding from other sources, such as groundwater intrusion and riverine or surface water flooding from rain-fall-runoff events.

The online mapping tool's beta testing will be complete in mid-July at which time it will go public. BIA members who have an interest in how a particular area will be portrayed in the mapping tool have an opportunity to contact BCDC and provide comments or additional information about a site's topography and flood protection features.

The BCDC contact is:
Eliza Berry
Environmental Scientist
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
Adapting to Rising Tides Program
415-352-3660
eliza.berry@bcdc.ca.gov