Project Profile: Incorporate Climate Change in Flood Inundation Mapping and Flood Risk Management

National Mall and Memorial Parks' Tidal Basin during high water levels.

NPS

Inflation Reduction Act
Resilience | FY24-26 $973,939

The National Park Service will compare methods for considering climate change in assessments of current and future flood hazards. Pilot studies in park units will evaluate data and tools for quantifying observed and anticipated climate-induced changes in floods, mapping current and future floodplains, and characterizing project flood risks over given planning horizons.

Why? Flood impacts in national parks vary widely, with smaller historic parks facing threats to cultural resources from recurrent major floods, yet lacking flood hazard maps for planning and protection. Other parks, like those needing river access infrastructure, rely on data about changing flood hazards. Despite experiencing catastrophic flood damage, some areas still lack flood inundation maps to guide reinvestment in infrastructure. Most parks lack comprehensive flood risk maps and existing maps are based on historical data and do not account for potential increases in flooding due to climate change.

What else? Floods adversely affect infrastructure, threaten cultural and natural resources, and compromise visitor safety, yet parks remain ill-equipped to assess and mitigate flood risks. In some locations, climate change has increased the likelihood of floods that have historically occurred once every 100 years on average. It is important for the National Park Service to protect ecosystems and cultural resources from increased flooding due to climate change.

About the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act provides the National Park Service with an historic opportunity to address critical ecosystem resilience, restoration, and environmental planning needs. Projects funded in national parks represent broad-scale and impactful resource investments across every corner of out nation—from Alaska to Florida to Maine.