It will cost at least $3.8 billion over the next 40 years to keep the City of Miami dry from rising seas, according to a draft of the city’s newly released stormwater master plan.
That sum, about four times the city’s annual budget, would buy the city new mega stormwater pumps, miles of 6-foot-tall sea walls, thousands of injection wells, and a network of eight-foot diameter underground pipes. These measures, though, are not likely to keep all neighborhoods dry.
Miami faces rising ocean levels due to the effects of global climate change. Even the best engineering options now being considered cannot fully mitigate this phenomenon, though city officials say the expense will be beneficial and keep Miami livable largely as is through 2060.
The report also alludes to a future decades later that includes floating cities and converting roads to canals.
Related Stories
| Feb 8, 2012
Project aimed at economical seismic retrofits on historic Memphis structures
The group will develop a low-cost seismic retrofit model that would benefit aging brick-and-mortar structures. It involves bolting steel brackets to existing wooden floor and ceiling joists.
| Feb 8, 2012
Houston signs on to Better Buildings Challenge
The challenge has about $4 billion in federal and private-sector funds, which it will use for building energy upgrades nationwide in the next two years.
| Feb 8, 2012
OSHA offers free health and safety consulting for small businesses
The consultants offer confidential, non-punitive advice.
| Feb 8, 2012
Controversy over pay for prisoners on roofing job in Michigan
The disagreement was over whether the prisoners should have been paid prevailing wage for their brief time on the job because the project was paid for with a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
| Jan 30, 2012
ZigBee and ISO 50001: Two new standards to make buildings greener
These developments demonstrate the dynamic nature of the market and the continued need for development of program standards of many different types that help builders and owners translate high performance and sustainable buildings goals into practical measures on the ground.
| Jan 30, 2012
New firm-fixed-price rules on federal contracts impact construction industry
Contractors will need to be on the lookout for policies such as the Contractor Accountability for Quality clause.
| Jan 30, 2012
Roofer’s fatal plunge demonstrates need for fall-prevention regulations
“The biggest problem is getting our workers to use the equipment,” says Michael J. Florio, executive director of the organization.
| Jan 26, 2012
Tampa moves to streamlined online permitting system
The system will replace an inefficient patchwork of old software and is designed to provide businesses, homeowners, and contractors with online access to permitting and licensing information.
