The Providence Resilience Partnership has warned for years of the city’s widespread flood risk and the need for more flood protection, but it never got a significant response. Now that’s changing.
With severe weather increasing in frequency and intensity, pushing Providence’s aged infrastructure to its limits, the public’s awareness and increased pressure to take action are spurring a change in attitude toward flood preparation, observers say.
“I don’t think there’s a city in the world that’s really ready for what’s happening now,” said Michele Jalbert, executive director of the Providence Resilience Partnership, a coalition of local property owners, community groups and environmentalists. “And what’s happening at such a fast pace ... what we’re seeing right now in terms of climate impact is like nothing we’ve ever experienced.”
City officials now are taking important steps to address these severe weather events, she says, such as building resiliency planning into Providence’s Comprehensive Plan. That’s “a once in 10 years opportunity that was very front and center in their thinking,” said Jalbert, who also noted that there have been proposed investments into the city’s stormwater system and hurricane barriers.
These actions present a contrast from just a few years ago when the partnership issued a 127-page resilience report. Calls for action largely prompted reassurances from local, state and federal officials that residents and businesses need not worry.
Now, the problem has become harder to ignore.
In recent months, a section of Pleasant Valley Parkway has flooded several times, damaging nearby homes. Most recently, the West River overflowed after heavy rain on Sept. 11, flooding a shopping plaza on Branch Avenue and causing severe damage to numerous businesses and some homes.
“People are seeing things across the country, they’re experiencing things directly,” Jalbert said. “And it’s a perfect time to catalyze action and get people involved. We need to channel the concern and worry people have into steps they can take to change the future.”
Following the Sept. 11 flooding, Mayor Brett P. Smiley highlighted actions the city is taking, stating that public works personnel had been clearing drains in flood-prone areas through the summer.
But it could only do so much.
“Recent rainstorms are an example of the extreme weather that we’re starting to see more frequently,” Smiley said. “And even the most robust sewer system can’t handle as much rain as we’ve been receiving in recent storms.”
Still, the city will continue to “invest in our outdated storm system,” Smiley said, while continuing to fortify Providence’s hurricane barrier and work resiliency initiatives into city planning “to prepare for, regrettably, more storms like this in the future.”
Additionally, Smiley spokesperson Josh Estrella said city crews have been dredging stormwater canals to increase capacity. For example, over the summer, Estrella says, the city dredged 112 tons of sediment from the culvert that runs along Pleasant Valley Parkway, and the work continues in other prone areas.
“Our system is outdated and antiquated, which is why the city has started to make investments in both stormwater infrastructure and storm surge infrastructure,” Estrella said.
While that won’t prevent all flooding, these actions are setting the stage for greater resiliency infrastructure, says Pam Rubinoff, a coastal management specialist at the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center.
“We are not there, but I see these as building blocks to starting to identify how to best make a climate-resilient Providence,” Rubinoff said.