The Army Corps of Engineers are planning to build a $6 billion sea wall in Miami in order to decrease the risk of flooding. While this sea wall seems like a good solution, there’s always the possibility of it being easily torn down by a very strong wave or a hurricane. The proposed six mile wall will leave most of the city unprotected:
[...] the wall will still trap water inside; and the Corps hasn’t closely studied what the construction of a high sea wall would do to water quality. At the same time, it would block the water views that the city’s economy thrives on.
To protect more of the region without losing Miami’s vibrant character, there are ways to pair the strength of less-obtrusive hardened infrastructure with nature-based “green” solutions. With our colleagues at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the College of Engineering, we have been designing and testing innovative hybrid solutions.
Image credit: Ashley Satanosky (Unsplash)
All this will do is set up an even bigger disaster when it does fail, and it will eventually fail.