Properties Miles Inland Can Still Be Subject to Sea Level Rise-Driven Flooding

When we think of properties at risk of sea level rise flooding, we usually picture properties near beaches. Due to Florida’s unique coastal geology, some areas of the state bust that myth. They’re home to real estate that experiences sea level rise-related flooding miles inland.

How is this possible? Many communities on the Florida peninsula are built on porous limestone instead of granite bedrock. As the seas rise, the salt water is able to migrate inland through the limestone. When it meets fresh groundwater trying to flow to the sea, water pressure pushes the fresh groundwater up. As a result, when it rains, the land is too saturated to absorb the runoff, so it pools (floods) on the lowest land.

Miami-Dade County’s sea level rise task force noted in a 2016 report that this dynamic will make it more difficult for the existing network of drainage canals to protect inland properties from flooding.

Government officials in some locations are struggling with the problem. In some cases they’re able to improve the drainage system. In others, they’re not.

A solution they’re increasingly turning to is using federal funds to buyout properties that flood repeatedly. After the properties are purchased, they’ll turn the land into parks and fields that can store excess runoff. This approach, they say, is less expensive than repeatedly repairing properties that flood.

Miami-Dade County and Brevard County together are in the process of purchasing about two dozen inland properties that experience chronic flooding. Overall, Florida state officials have earmarked more than $44 million for buyouts across the state. As sea level continues to rise, this is likely just the beginning of the buyouts.

Not all homeowners are pleased with the buyout program. WLRN, a local public radio station that serves South Florida, canvassed at-risk inland neighborhoods and found homeowners had several concerns. In an article posted on the station’s website, the owners said they didn’t want their property values to decline because buyers were worried about the threat of flooding. They also said they worried that empty lots left after the houses were razed would give the wrong impression that every nearby property was at risk of flooding and further erode the value of their homes.

The hidden threat of sea level rise-driven flooding miles inland from the coast is a powerful reminder to real estate buyers to perform due diligence before submitting an offer on a property. They need to determine whether a property or neighborhood currently floods or if it will flood any time soon. The answer will impact the carrying costs, value and live-ability of the property that caught their eye.