I would like to congratulate the Office for Coastal Management for its outstanding work with the City of Charleston to support resilience in the face of sea level rise. OCM used its Sea Level Rise Viewer's flood projection maps, digital elevation models, and realistic visualizations to show city planners and engineers how local streets, landmarks, and infrastructure would be affected if sea level were to rise an additional one to three feet. City planners incorporated the information into a proposed sea level rise strategy. The Charleston City Council recently approved the strategy, and the mayor is convening a team to address its implementation.
Carolee Williams, project manager for the City of Charleston in the Department of Planning, Preservation, and Sustainability said, "NOAA's data, tools, and technical assistance played a critical role in helping our officials to 'see' the problem and move ahead on a sea level rise strategy."
It's great to see how our efforts directly support a community's decisions to ensure coastal resilience!
W. Russell Callender, Ph.D.
Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal
Zone Management, National Ocean Service