BRANFORD, Conn. — Storms have ravaged the Connecticut shoreline for centuries, but it's growing even more vulnerable as sea levels rise at growing rates.
A recently released report finds sea level rise is accelerating. The rise experienced in the next 30 years will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years.
Not only is it a daunting issue, but it also has the potential to be a very costly one.
The shoreline town of Branford is taking a proactive approach.
"There are really three strategies. Protection, accommodate, retreat... they're going to be vastly more expensive in the future," James Finch, Branford's finance director, said.
Finch helped establish Branford’s coastal resiliency fund, likely the first of its kind in the state.
According to the town's website, they worked with State Senator Christine Cohen to draft and propose Senate Bill 1062: An Act Authorizing Municipal Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency Reserve Funds which was signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont in July 2019.
Prior to that, state law largely prohibited municipalities from investing in assets designed to achieve superior growth over longer periods of time.
"Essentially I said, what if you could start creating a fund today, prime it with like a million dollars, and continue to add dollars to that," Finch said.
The town allocated $1 million from its general fund in 2019 to seed the new fund.
Much like starting a 401K at a young age, the idea is that money grows over time, and sea-level rise presents a growing issue down the road.
"Sometimes when I describe this fund, I say we’re planting seeds for the future... I think the state of Connecticut has an opportunity quite honestly, to kind of mirror what Branford has done," Finch suggests. As an example, the state treasurer could establish a state coastal resiliency fund for towns to opt into.
Ryan Breton is a meteorologist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at rbreton@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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