Roads, fire stations, wastewater plants, and even wooden dune walkovers were built for weather conditions planners can no longer assume will behave as they did in the past.
That challenge was at the center of the sixth annual Southwest Florida Resiliency Summit this week at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda.
"Everything that we design in our community is built for historical conditions," Jennifer Hecker, director of the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership, said. "And that includes the materials, how we build, where we build, what we build."
Government officials, businesses, nonprofits and residents compared lessons from hurricanes, flooding, drought, wildfire and extreme rainfall, including what worked, what failed and what should change before the next disaster.
Hecker said communities are using data and modeling to identify roads, public buildings, and other infrastructure vulnerable to flooding and extreme weather. That could mean elevating highway, building fire and police stations up on manmade hills and moving wastewater treatment plants out of flood-prone areas.
But some protection does not require concrete.
Undeveloped land stores floodwater, and Hecker said identifying those areas before land-use decisions are made can help communities preserve the environment. Sometimes the best solution will be a combination of poured concrete seawalls paired with nature's own wave breakers — mangrove forests.
Recent storms also have exposed weaknesses in features designed to protect the coast.
Hecker said traditional dune walkovers can block sunlight from reaching the sand beneath them. Without vegetation, storm water can find a weak point and cut through the dune.
One possible answer is grated walkways that allow sunlight through so vegetation can grow underneath, its deep roots holding a dune in place.
Those lessons can move from one community to another, allowing planners to use what survived one hurricane or flood to improve projects elsewhere.
"Every bit of time we can buy will make both humans and the environment more successful in adapting to changing conditions," she said.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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