The tenth iteration of Keeping History Above Water took place May 7-9th, 2023 at the AC Hotel in Portsmouth, NH in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the city’s settlement. The conference was hosted by three institutions working together to assess the impacts of sea level rise in the city: Strawbery Banke Museum, the City of Portsmouth Planning and Sustainability and Wastewater Divisions, and the University of NH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space. 165 attendees were welcomed to the three-day conference to explore “Water Has a Memory: Preserving Historic Port Cities from Sea Level Rise.”
KHAW Portsmouth 2023 welcomed 27 speakers, including US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern, author Howard Mansfield, NOAA Senior Advisor for Coastal Inundation and Resilience Mark Osler, UNH climatologist and research professor Dr. Cameron Wake and case studies detailing how municipalities and preservationists from Portland ME to Tidewater VA are addressing the challenges of sea level rise.
The message repeated throughout the conference was, “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ sea level rise flooding will have increasing impact.
Many of the speakers provided tools and resources to guide local communities as they take action: the NOAA Flood Risk Assessment & Application Guide, the NH Coastal Flood Risk Summary, and the US Senate Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Zoning Atlas. In addition to the presentations, the group visited the City’s Prescott Park for an on-site discussion of planned resiliency efforts around the historic 1806 Shaw Warehouse, Strawbery Banke to understand its Water Management Master Plan and the city’s oldest cemetery – the 1671 Point of Graves Burying Ground.
Location:
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Dates:
May 7 – 9, 2023
Partners:
Strawbery Banke Museum, the City of Portsmouth Planning and Sustainability and Wastewater Divisions, and the University of NH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space
Presentations
KHAW Update from Newport Restoration Foundation – Alyssa Lozupone and Margaret Back, Newport Restoration Foundation
Finding Solutions, Creating Change – Rodney Rowland, Strawbery Banke Museum
Portsmouth’s Historic District and Sea Level Rise – Peter Britz, City of Portsmouth Planning and Sustainability Department
Environmental Monitoring of Natural and Developed Coastal Environments -Michael Routhier, University of New Hampshire
“Think Blue” Initiatives and the Portsmouth Water System – Brian Goetz, City of Portsmouth DPW
Implementing Resiliency Measures: 1860 Historic Shaw Warehouse – Cassie Bethoney, Weston & Sampson
Charting Solutions in a Resilient City 2.0 – Kerry Shackelford and Paige Pollard, Building Resilient Solutions
Climate Action Planning at Historic New England – Ben Haavik, Historic New England
The House of Seven Gables and MA Coastal Zone Management – Susan Baker, House of Seven Gables
Provincetown MA Flood Plain: Preservation Case Studies- Regina Binder, Binder Group
Tim Famulare, Provincetown
Michela Murphy, Provincetown HDC
Increasing Climate Resiliency through Selective Dam Removal – Peter Walker and Quinn Stuart, VHB
NOAA Update – Mark Osler, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NH Coastal Flood Risk: Science & Guidance- Cameron Wake, Ph.D., University of New Hampshire
Role of the Federal Government and Climate Change Policy – Sara Bronin, Chair, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
A Tale of Three Storms – David Luchsinger, National Park Service
Living Above the Street: Flood Retrofitting of NYC – Ziming Wang, Columbia University
Adapting to Sea Level Rise in Southern Maine- Dave Reidmiller, Ph.D., Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Staying Above Water – Ian Stevenson, Greater Portland Landmarks
Adapting Historic Resources to Sea Level Rise through Regional Connection – Abbie Sherwin, Southern Maine Planning & Development Commission
