Revere officials highlight flood monitoring, resilience efforts in coastal neighborhoods

By Barbara Taormina

The city’s Resilience Manager, Kristen Homeyer, and Woods Hole Coastal Scientist Justine Rooney met with the City Council this week to present ongoing work on flood monitoring and community resiliency. Homeyer explained the Building Adaptive Capacity in Revere: Flood Monitoring and Community Resilience Project, which planners have been working on for the past several years. Homeyer and Rooney showed maps of the Revere coast and described the elevations of shorelines. The presentation focused on Mills Avenue and Pearl Avenue, which have seen increased flooding over the past 30 years.

Sensors that measure the amount of water in real time have been installed and can alert residents through a web platform when flooding events are likely. Residents can sign up for alerts and notifications. Homeyer said social resiliency, residents warning one another to move cars or try to prepare, is strong in the neighborhoods. She also said community engagement on flooding issues is also strong and planners have been guided by resident input.

“In the Mills and Pearl Avenue locations, the public has been asking for help,” said Homeyer.

The sensors may also provide valuable information to first responders about the condition of streets they may need to access. Although the sensors were set to warn Mills and Pearl Avenue neighborhoods, Rooney said they would also warn other coastal neighborhoods about possible flooding.

Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya asked about long-term strategies for flood mitigation. “This work sets the stage for more work to be done,” said Rooney. “Data on wind direction and the way water flows through the marsh also needs to be studied. This keeps the train moving although it feels like nothing is being done.”

Guarino-Sawaya also asked about home elevation projects and help with astronomical flood insurance costs. Homeyer said the project is looking at the community rating system through the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the hope of providing some relief for residents with homeowners insurance.

Homeyer explained that data from Pearl Avenue showed that first-floor flooding was not a risk, and if flooding occurred, it would affect basements. Home elevation is not considered a solution because the homes are older. She said utility elevation is a strategy being considered. But relocating utilities from a basement to an above ground space is costly. Project planners are looking at the possibility of a city program established to help residents with utility elevation.

Homeyer and Rooney said they continue to work on informing the public about the Resilience Project with meetings and information tables at city events.

Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro asked about the cost of the project and the sensors. Homeyer said it is totally covered by coastal resiliency grants and grants from Coast Zone Management.

Ward 1 Councillor James Mercurio urged all residents in the Mills and Pearl Avenue neighborhoods to sign up for alerts from the sensors, which can be accessed through the city’s Planning and Community Development website.