Coastal Vulnerability Assessments & Shoreline Strategic Plans Along the Jersey Shore

Princeton Hydro developed a Coastal Vulnerability Assessment and Risk Analysis protocol that examines current and future flooding conditions given projected sea level rise and coastal storm risk. The protocol evaluates these conditions on the assessed value of the community to provide compelling evidence that would speak directly to the concerns of local officials and residents.

The parcel-based mapping analysis predicts depths of inundation throughout a community under various future climate change scenarios, then models resulting structural damage and calculates both the property owners’ financial exposure and the towns’ related potential tax revenue losses. This vulnerability assessment and risk analysis protocol was applied to six communities in New Jersey participating in a local recovery planning effort led by BRS and New Jersey Future after Hurricane Sandy. NJDEP has since recommended the protocol for other communities within New Jersey who wish to understand their future risk associated with sea level rise and coastal storms.

Following development of the vulnerability assessment and risk analysis, in an independent project funded by an USEPA grant, Princeton Hydro developed a Shoreline Inventory and Shoreline Strategic Plan for two of the communities that participated in the local recovery planning effort, Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton. The Shoreline Inventory and Strategic Plan built upon the risk analysis framework to inform strategies to stabilize and restore vital defenses against short-, medium-, and long-term risks to the 294-mile shoreline of Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor.

This shoreline assessment used GIS data, as well as data collected through field visits to detail the existing shoreline types and conditions along the tidal waters within both municipalities. The assessment analyzed the vulnerability of the shoreline to coastal erosion, as well as rising seas and coastal storms. The Plan provided several general recommendations and strategies to help minimize future risk to natural and community resources within the study area.