State Study Targets Flood-Prone Areas on the Island

Island Park in Portsmouth, and Thames Street, Newport, are included in a state-funded study to identify businesses vulnerable to flooding and storm surge because of climate change.

Rhode Island Commerce, the economic development arm of state government, announced earlier this month an initiative called “Ready, Set, Rhody.” They hired Providence engineering firm Fuss & O’Neill to assist in preparing assessments and remediation plans for commercial areas most vulnerable to severe weather events, coastal erosion and floods.

Along with R.I. Commerce and the Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning, the engineering company will prepare and share the assessments with municipalities, including what R.I. Commerce called “high-level information,” on specific areas and methods to increase resilience for vulnerable business districts.

Former Newport city manager Joseph Nicholson, who now manages Bowen’s Wharf properties, said he was unaware of the new study but that efforts to mitigate flooding on the wharf have been supported by state funds. “We applied to the state and received funds to take steps to prevent flooding damage,” he said. “I really don’t know anything about this new study.”

As waterfront regions, Island Park and Thames Street were chosen for obvious reasons, but the study will range to communities along the state’s coast and interior areas troubled by river flooding during severe storms. In some cases, as with Aquidneck Island, local officials have already identified areas in need of remediation to guard against flooding and storm surge damage. (See Newport This Week, March 20, 2025)

Matthew Touchette, communications director at R.I. Commerce, said they are aware of work that communities have already done to develop strategic resilience plans. The “Ready, Set, Rhody” study, he said, will look at individual Main Street districts in various parts of the state.

“The intention is not to duplicate efforts but to build upon them,” Touchette said. “Existing plans will serve as critical input to avoid redundancies and identify opportunities for collaboration and scaling.”

Paige Myatt, Aquidneck Island’s resilience coordinator, said recently she had not been contacted about the study and did not know any details. She was a key figure involved in the island-wide resilience plan submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Touchette said Fuss & O’Neill will work with R.I. Commerce and Statewide Planning to collaborate with appropriate staff in each community.

“Through the identification stage of the project, our contact has thus far been primarily with planners and economic development offices in each municipality,” he said.

Teresa Crean, Newport’s director of resilience and sustainability, confirmed that the city was notified that Lower Thames Street is one of the 12 “Ready, Set, Rhody” study areas included in this effort.

“We haven’t yet been briefed on next steps or how the project will engage the local community,” she said.

Aquidneck Land Trust, where Myatt works, received a $2 mil­lion federal grant last year to work with municipal officials and Naval Station Newport to develop an is­land wide Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan, which was completed earlier this year, is going through an approval process by the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and will go through a similar review by the Federal Emer­gency Management Agency.

The ALT grant came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of a Biden administration climate change initiative. The regional effort was also funded by a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant from FEMA.

Each of the island’s three com­munities prepared separate hazard mitigation plans targeting areas plagued by flooding and storm damage and identifying steps that would be taken to mitigate those threats. A 21-member committee of appointed town planners, police and fire representatives, climate resilience officials, Navy liaisons, and community repre­sentatives worked on the plan. It covers dozens of steps designed to protect roadways from flooding, secure coastal infrastructure, protect drinking water supplies and plan for evacuation and shel­tering. It also includes building an Emergency Operations Center that would serve all three island com­munities.

Asked if the purpose of the state-sponsored study extends to funding for local projects, Touchette said the vulnerability assessments will provide recom­mendations to municipalities to decrease the risk of flood damage in their Main Street districts.

“Recommendations will provide a range of options at different price points and can be used as desired by the municipalities to support other funding requests and mu­nicipal planning,” he said. “The goal is to equip communities with tangible options they can evaluate to determine best steps for imple­mentation at the local level.”

Fuss & O’Neill was selected after a competitive bid process. R.I. Commerce said the firm has exten­sive experience in flood resilience planning, design and construction services for municipalities, state agencies and regional organiza­tions. Fuss & O’Neill has written a number of state and local storm­water manuals, including one for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.

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