How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Falmouth's Sewer Plans? | Falmouth Enterprise

As the town works toward alleviating nitrogen loading by sewering over the next two decades, it must take into account that low-lying areas of Falmouth will be under water within 50 years, said Ivan Valiela, a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole.

In 25 to 50 years, large chunks of coastal Falmouth will submerge regularly, Dr. Valiela said, and added, “I don’t think it’s a wise thing to put pipes ... in areas that have a 25-year life expectancy,” especially given how expensive sewers are to install.

Surf Drive, for example, is already flooded regularly by storms, leaving the street covered with sand.

“That’s going to increase exponentially,” Dr. Valiela said. “Eventually Salt Pond is going to disappear and the sea is going to move inland. That’s going to flood a heck of a lot of houses with sewer systems.” Read rest of the article here.

How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Falmouth's Sewer Plans? | The Falmouth Enterprise