Sea Change San Mateo County - Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment

What's New?

City Council Study Session coming Monday, November 4, 2024!

A Study Session on City's Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Planning Study is scheduled for the Monday, November 4, 2024 City Council meeting. For information about City Council meetings, including how to subscribe to Agendas, how to view and participate in City Council meetings, and how to request translation services, please visit the City Council Meetings, Agendas, and Minutes page. 

The presentation and meeting recording of the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Planning Study Community Workshop held on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024,1 - 3 PM, at Public Works Services in Redwood City are now available:

• Workshop presentation
• Meeting recording

The Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Planning Study is available for public review and comment. To access the study, please click on the the link below:

Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Planning Study

Please send your comments on the Study to SeaLevelRiseStudy@redwoodcity.org.

Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment

The City is currently conducting a Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment of Redwood City, building on prior regional studies to develop recommended strategies and actions for preventing sea level rise-related flooding in the future. The expected timeline of the project is below, with the Final Report coming in 2024:

Impacts of Sea Level Rise in Redwood City

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the top hotspots for sea level rise in the nation. Average sea level in the Bay Area has risen 8 inches in the past 100 years, based on the San Francisco tide gauge. When population projections are taken into account, San Mateo County is one of six counties with more than 100,000 people in the nation (and the only one on the West Coast) that will be affected by three feet of sea level rise.

In 2018, the County of San Mateo finalized a Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment for the County in coordination with cities, agencies, businesses, community groups, and others. Sea level rise impacts include flooding, increased wave action, rising groundwater tables and saltwater intrusion, increased erosion (i.e., landward shoreline retreat) and changes in sediment supply.

To help our community address increasing flood and sea level rise threats, the City has partnered with the Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District (OneShoreline) to implement mitigation projects. OneShoreline is actively leading the study on levee improvements in Redwood Shores and is working with multiple local jurisdictions and stakeholders.

In February 2023, the City kicked off its own, Redwood City-specific Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study. The ultimate goal of the assessment is to develop sea level rise adaptation strategies, to advance flood protection, and to protect ecosystems and the built environment along the Bay. In order to characterize sea level rise vulnerability for the study area, survey data is integrated with available infrastructure data and expected future sea levels along the shoreline. The study delineates the shoreline into a limited number of reaches based on variations in shoreline type, flood hazard exposure, inland flood connectivity, flooding vulnerabilities, and management constraints. Recommendations for adaptation strategies are presented according to the specific conditions of these reaches.

Please send your comments on the Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability and Adapation Planning Study to SeaLevelRiseStudy@redwoodcity.org. 

For more information, please visit www.RedwoodCity.org/Environment or click here to view our Climate Action Plan.