By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

 The potential impact of rising sea levels has raised concerns for several cities and towns in southern Maine. 

On Oct. 6, Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall signed an inter-local agreement for Scarborough to join Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach and Saco officials and the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission in the Sea Level Adaptation Working Group, or SLAWG. 

The group was formed to deal with rising sea levels and devise a plan on how to provide infrastructure to vulnerable areas in the communities, said J.T. Lockman of the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission. 

Old Orchard Beach Town Planner Gary Lamb said the town already struggles with “tremendous flooding” on both ends of town and several areas already are of particular concern.

“In Ocean Park, there doesn’t even have to be a high tide, sometimes just when the heavens open up you get flooding,” Lamb said.

Lamb said he hopes SLAWG also can help improve several culverts under the Downeaster railroad line and along Route 9 to facilitate the flow of water in the area.
“The railroad bed acts like a dam that shuts off the water’s natural outpost to the beach. It’s basically an 8,000-foot long mud puddle,” Lamb said. 

Lockman said he would like to see SLAWG help enlarge a proposed inlet for Jones Creek at Pine Point to help facilitate the flow of water.

According to a draft of the agreement among Scarborough, Old Orchard Beach, Biddeford and Saco officials, some benefits of collaborating could be incraesed grant opportunities and lower consulting costs if communities apply together. Lockman said it would also expedite work because the group would only have to go through the state and federal systems once for permitting instead of separately for each town.

“A lot of cities have political lines which divide towns. However these marshes and watersheds cross town lines,” Lockman said.

“The Maine Geological Survey has been collecting data on coastal erosion rates and sea levels and what their findings have shown is that there has been an upward trend in highest annual tide levels,” Lockman said. “We’re trying to adapt to that trend because as sea level rises, the impact of coastal storms begins to worsen,” Lockman said.

Peter Slovinsky of the Maine Geological Survey said sea level has increased approximately 7.2 inches since the survey was formed in 1912. He anticipates a more elevated rise in the next 100 years. 

Slovinsky showed SLAWG what kind of inundation could occur if sea levels rise an approximate 2 feet by 2100, something Lockman called a “conservative estimate.”

 “The Patriot’s Day Storm would be a real-life example of what could regularly happen. Private properties, roads, utilities and natural areas such as the marshes and river estuaries would all be affected,” Lockman said. 

The Patriot’s Day Storm in April 2007 caused flooding throughout southern Maine and erosion to many beaches, according to Maine.gov.

“As sea levels rise, the coastline will respond in a landward direction,” Slovinsky said, adding that some of the worst erosion he has seen is at Camp Ellis and Ferry Beach in Saco.

“This is already an immediate concern,” Slovinsky said.

Slovinsky said people involved in the Maine Geological Survey have conducted polling throughout southern Maine to see how many homeowners think rising sea levels will affect their homes in years to come. 

“A significant percentage of people thought sea levels will affect communities in 10 years. Most people have seen significant changes in beaches and oceanfront homes, as well as the levels and intensities of storms and their impacts,” he said.

Lockman said similar estimates by geological surveys of rising sea levels in Rhode Island have predicted a 3- to 5-foot increase in the next 100 years.

Lamb said during the Patriot’s Day storm Ocean Park saw more than a foot of water in some areas and many homes were encircled by water.

“If you transpose a 2-foot rise in sea level upon the area, every high tide would mirror the Patriot’s Day storm,” Lamb said.

Slovinsky said Goose Fair Brook, which separates Saco from Old Orchard Beach, has experienced severe flooding as well and is an area he would like to see SLAWG address. 

Scarborough Assistant Town Planner Jay Chace said SLAWG hopes to meet once a week and plans to have an idea by the end of the year what developments to pursue.

“We know this problem is coming, the question is, now what do we do?” Chace asked.

Slovinsky said he is excited the group has gotten to this point and hopes SLAWG can contribute significantly to the planning and development of vulnerable areas. 

“Our approach is to get communities to work together to develop these adaptation techniques,” said Slovinsky. “Let’s not argue about whether these things were human-influenced or not, but there are a variety of different impacts that are going to occur.”

Lockman said he is glad the group has formed now as developments to the town infrastructures may take years to complete. 

“The community needs to be aware that the Patriot’s Day Storm is not the last. There will be others.”

Staff Writer Dan Aceto can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.