Environmental risks are increasing.

This plan focuses on creating sustainable and flood-resistant infrastructure, which will be critical as DC prepares for worsening flooding over the next 15 to 30 years. Due to global warming, sea levels are projected to rise over the coming decades to levels not seen for more than 10,000 years. Since the Anacostia is part of the greater Chesapeake water system, as the sea level rises, simple high tides will result in local flood conditions for sustained time periods.

Another effect of climate change will be worsening storms. Due to aging and overburdened infrastructure, flooding from stormwater in the interior of neighborhoods is already a significant concern in DC. The issue of stormwater overflow into the Anacostia River has for a long time contributed to the heavy pollution of the waterway, but stormwater also affects low-income neighborhoods east of the river in the form of basement backups, surface flooding, and impaired roadways.[11]

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists' 2014 Encroaching Tides Report, The mid-Atlantic coast is expected to see some of the greatest increases in flood frequency. Washington, DC can expect more than 150 tidal floods a year.

11.9” in sea level rise by 2045

400 Predicted number of flooding events per year by 2045 in DC