SCARBOROUGH (WGME) – A team of hired consultants says parts of Scarborough will be under water in the decades to come and now’s the time to prepare.
They discussed this issue at a workshop Thursday.
Back in January of 2024, a coastal surge and record high tides tore into parts of Scarborough’s coastline, including Higgins and Pine Point Beaches.
The town has now hired a consulting firm of engineers and scientists to look into where Scarborough is vulnerable and how it should respond.
The project kicked off in the spring of 2024 after the damaging winter storms rolled through.
Since last spring, the town and a consulting firm have given community presentations, completed pilot projects, reviewed the town’s ordinances and collected feedback from residents.
The group found more than 100 public roads that were at risk of coastal flooding, with 38 at risk for present day water levels and 62 at risk by 2050.
Now, they are suggesting elevating many roads and constructing dunes.
At the town’s workshop Wednesday night, consultants say in about 75 years, parts of the town, like Pine Point, will be under water any time there’s a high tide, and it’s time to think about how to move forward.
“So there are areas in the town that will start to experience daily flooding, and that is something you have to start thinking about in terms of how you adapt,” GEI Consultants Engineer Leila Pike said. “So is that infrastructure adaptation, or do you start thinking about a long-term retreat process?”
The town says there will be more meetings focused on the response at Higgins and Pine Point next month as the project continues.