Tidal basin8/2/2023 ![]() Mike Litterst, NPS chief of communications for the National Mall and Memorial Sites, said this project will be a long process and is correcting an issue that has been a NPS priority for the last 30 years. The plan is to repair and raise 6,800 feet of seawall roughly five feet making sure the walls are sunk to bedrock so they cannot settle and sink with time. (Image courtesy of NPS) Addressing old infrastructure The goal is to help create a Tidal Basin that is more resilient to climate change to ensure it can withstand not only current water levels, but also the higher waters expected decades from now.įour seawall zones will be repaired and raised by the National Park Service through the National Mall and Historic Parks. Now, after years of discussion, the National Park Service (NPS) has started the planning process to repair and raise portions of the seawall. On top of their age, the seawalls have sunk roughly three feet because they were built on dredged material, not bedrock.Ĭompounded with climate change raising waters in the Potomac River-almost 11 inches in the last 90 years-paths flood with regular tides, threatening the health of trees and monuments and forcing visitors to find detours along the trail. Some sections were rebuilt in the 1930s and 40s, but many areas are deteriorating. Seawalls, which are structures created to protect land from erosion and flooding, were built in the 1880s and create the basin. ![]() Each spring, over 36 million people visit the 107-acre site during the four weeks of peak cherry blossom blooms. Memorial and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. ![]() The basin is home to many monuments including the Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. In Washington, D.C., the Tidal Basin, a historic site known for its many monuments and over 3,000 cherry trees, floods twice a day every day during high tide, due to increased water levels and deteriorating seawalls. (Photo by Caroline Grass/Chesapeake Bay Program) ![]() Paths flood daily due to rising Potomac River waters and sinking seawalls, impeding recreation and threatening the health of cherry trees. A section of the Tidal Basin East seawall is flooded on August 11, 2022. ![]()
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