The feds are all in.
So New Haven has learned, as far as one of the city’s most ambitious climate-change efforts is concerned.
That effort is called the New Haven County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project. It aims plan to protect the city from the effects of rising sea levels. The plan calls for building a flood wall along I‑95 by the harbor; five removable gates at flood-prone spots on Long Wharf; and a large pump station for stormwater that accumulates in major storms, potentially overwhelming Long Wharf and the area around the train station and police station.
New Haven beat out other communities to undertake this project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the first major coastal resilience demonstration project for the region. It has passed the initial study phase and is in the design phase.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven announced Wednesday that she has helped secure $160.3 million for the project in federal Hurricane Ida relief funds.
City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said Wednesday that that money will cover the full federal commitment for not just the current design phase of the project, but for the subsequent construction phase.
“We’re excited about it, that’s for sure,” he said of the news. “This is part of our response to climate change: how we maintain opportunities for our residents while” preparing for rising sea levels.
“Over the last decade, the catastrophic flooding in Connecticut’s coastal areas have upended lives, destroyed homes and businesses, and completely reshaped the shoreline,” a release from DeLauro’s office quoted her as saying. “There is very little we can do to prevent natural disasters from occurring, but we can — and must — be proactive about preparing for them and minimizing the damage. These relief funds for the New Haven County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project will help protect Long Wharf and key infrastructure from the damage caused by floods like those that have devastated the area in the past. By creating construction jobs and saving money on future cleanup costs and losses caused by water damage, this project is a huge economic benefit to the region.”
DeLauro separately announced that the city will receive another $63 million under the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to complete the New Haven Navigation Improvement Project, which involves dredging the harbor to make way for larger vessels to come into the port.
Where will the water go?