Delray Beach is a coastal city in Palm Beach County, Florida with an estimated 68,000 residents. Delray Beach is known as a vibrant, intimate town with big city sophistication, and features nearly two miles of award-winning public beaches, a product of one of the nation’s early and most successful beach nourishment projects.
Nestled along Florida’s 1,200 miles of vulnerable coastline, Delray Beach is susceptible to the dangers of rising waters. The city’s leaders recognize these challenges and have prioritized efforts to mitigate flooding and other damages caused by sea level rise. In 2010, the Green Implementation Advancement Board submitted Delray Beach Green Task Force Report advising the city commission on environmental sustainability and recommendations on how to implement it. Concerned about the ever-growing threat of sea level rise, Delray Beach’s Commission directed the formation of a citizen-lead Rising Waters Task Force in 2014. The Rising Waters Task Force Report was completed in 2017 and some recommendations are currently being implemented.
In 2017, Delray Beach was one of only two cities in Palm Beach County that joined an initiative to take environmental action on a local level, which includes actions to mitigate the potential hazards of rising sea levels. The city had previously installed one-way valves at storm drains outlets along Marine Way, one of its flood-prone streets, and has continued to upgrade storm drains on the barrier island. Projects to raise sea walls along Veterans Park and address coastal flooding more comprehensively are underway, including a Seawall Vulnerability Analysis that will assess the condition of sea walls in the entire city.
Delray Beach actively educates its residents about sea level rise impacts and potential solutions though annual outreach events tied to the autumnal King Tides. The city is also a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program and the Community Rating System, federal programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that allow property owners and renters to purchase flood insurance for their building and/or its contents.
