Coupeville council hears final draft of coastal adaptation strategy; consultants caution against large seawall

Coupeville’s Town Council on May 27 received the final draft of a coastal adaptation strategy funded by the Washington Department of Ecology, which lays out options to address sea level rise and coastal erosion across the town’s roughly 2.4 miles of shoreline.

The plan, presented by Community Planning Director Joshua Mulvore, recommends a mix of near-, mid- and long-term measures — from stormwater management, revegetation and beach nourishment to building elevation, floodproofing and, ultimately, relocation of highly vulnerable infrastructure. Mulvore and the consultant team emphasized that while some hard-armoring can be repaired or maintained, a continuous floodwall or large seawall is not recommended as a preferred town-scale solution because of permitting hurdles, very high construction and mitigation costs, and likely habitat and public-access impacts.

Why it matters: Coupeville’s downtown waterfront includes overwater historic buildings, utilities and the wastewater treatment plant; decisions about how to protect them will affect the town’s built heritage, local economy and shoreline habitat for species that use Penn Cove.

Most of the strategy uses established sea-level-rise projections and a grant-mandated evaluation…