Town of Fairfield Coastal Resilience

University of Connecticut Climate Corps

Superstorm Sandy

Superstorm Sandy hit Fairfield, in late October 2012, causing significant damage to over 600 homes and extensive destruction to town infrastructure. The storm surge, driven by high winds and heavy rainfall, flooded coastal and low-lying areas, damaging homes and businesses and knocking out power to thousands of residents. The storm's intensity was further compounded by its unusual combination of a hurricane and a winter storm, which produced high waves and strong winds that caused significant erosion. Superstorm Sandy was classified as a high-end category 2 hurricane.

This map shows the extent and severity of the storm surge in Fairfield during Superstorm Sandy.

Photos: Sally Harold

Hurricane Surge

Number of properties in Fairfield impacted by hurricane surge by each category of hurricane

During coastal storms, storm surge causes the most damage to properties and risk to human lives. Storm surge is the rise of sea water during a coastal storm measured above the predicted normal astronomical tide. Thus storms that hit at high tide can cause more destruction since the water level is already high. Storm intensity can result in higher storm surge from high winds and duration.

In Fairfield, there are 5,457 properties designated to be within the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) by FEMA. Properties in this area are susceptible to flooding from 100 year storm events. The graphic to the right displays the number of properties in Fairfield at risk of hurricane surge.

The following map shows hurricane surge inundation for hurricanes striking the coast with a peak surge arriving at high mean water. This layer was developed by the National Hurricane Center using the Sea Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Model.

Sea Level Rise

61% of Connecticut's population lives in costal areas

Of the total 3.6 million people who live in Connecticut, 2.2 million people live along the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. In the coastal beach area in Fairfield, there are more than 4,000 residential properties and approximately 400 commercial properties at risk to sea-level rise. Critical town infrastructure including the fire and police stations, multiple schools, senior center, historical sites, and the town hall all are also at risk to 20 inch sea-level rise.

Sea level rise projections for Connecticut. Local tide gage observations (blue), the IPCC (2013) RPC 4.5 model simulations near Long Island Sound (yellow), the semi-empirical models (orange) and ice budgets (magenta) as in CPO-1 (CIRCA)

The Connecticut coast has observed a 6 inch increase in sea-level since 1970's. The figure to the left developed by  CIRCA  shows four sea-level rise projection models for Connecticut. By 2050, the Connecticut coast is predicted to experience an additional 20 inches of sea-level rise. All coastal Connecticut communities are required to plan up to 20 inches of sea-level rise but can plan for additional.

The below map gives a side-by-side comparison of two sea-level rise scenarios in Fairfield. Areas covered by purple suggest flooding caused by sea-level rise.

Left map: displays areas impacted in a scenario of 24 inch sea level rise. Right map: displays areas impacted for a scenario of 79 inch sea level rise.

Effects of 1, 3 and 6 feet of sea-level rise in town of Fairfield. Fairfield is the most susceptible Connecticut town to coastal sea-level rise with the most amount of residents that would be displaced in the state. Published in Underwater report by the Regional Plan Association in 2016.

Road Flooding

"sunny day flood" in Fairfield (FECB)

Intense rain events during periods of high tide, increases the risk of high tide flooding events, also referred to as "sunny day flooding". An accelerating increase in high tide flooding nationally has been observed due to rapid sea-level rise. Intense rain can overwhelm stormwater systems and high tides can overflow low bulkheads. The impact is periodic street flooding that can close roads and flood homes. Fairfield will experienc more intense rain events in upcoming years.

Rooster River flooding in 2018 (FECB)

In 2018, the Rooster River flooded due to high volume of rain in a short period of time. On Sept. 25, 2018, the National Weather Service recorded 2 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period. The Rooster River watershed received approximately 5 to 7 inches causing the rising river level and damage to proerty and risk to life.

The map series below displays the observed frequency of road flooding in Fairfield from 2010 to 2055. Road flooding may be seen northwards of I-95 by 2055.

FEMA Flood Maps

Example of FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Fairfield.

The FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers (NFHL) is a digital database that provides information about flood hazards across the United States. The NFHL contains data on flood risk factors in floodplains and other flood-prone areas. This information is used to develop FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), which show the potential flood risk for a given area.

In Fairfield, FEMA Flood Zone maps indicates that several areas of the town are designated as high-risk flood zones. These areas are located along the coast and low-lying beach areas, where the risk of flooding is highest due to the proximity to Long Island Sound.

Moderate to Low Risk Areas

  • Zone X -  Area of moderate flood hazard, usually the area between the limits of the 100‐ year and 500‐year floods. B Zones are also used to designate base floodplains of lesser hazards, such as areas protected by levees from 100‐year flood, or shallow flooding areas with average depths of less than one foot or drainage areas less than 1 square mile

High Risk Areas (Mandatory Flood Insurance Requirements Apply)

  • Zone A - The base floodplain where base flood elevations are provided. AE Zones are now used on new format FIRMs instead of A1‐A30 Zones.
  • Zone AE - The base floodplain where base flood elevations are provided. AE Zones are now used on new format FIRMs instead of A1‐A30 Zones.

Coastal High-Risk Areas (Mandatory Flood Insurance Requirements Apply)

  • Zone VE, V1-30 - Coastal areas with a 1% or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves. These areas have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30‐year mortgage. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.

Resources

Fairfield residents are encouraged to contact the  Fairfield Flood & Erosion Control Board (FECB)  with any questions about future planning and construction of flood control measures. The  Town Plan and Zoning Department  can provide information for residents on FEMA flood insurance including flood map determinations. This information is also assessable through the towns GIS mapping service via  MetroCOG .

About this Story

This project was done in collaboration with The University of Connecticut Climate Corps and Town of Fairfield Flood & Erosion Control Board (FECB). The goal of this project was to identify vulnerabilities to coastal and riverine flooding in the town of Fairfield, CT. The findings of this project are to better advice future town planning for the coastal floodplain area to prepare for future impacts from global climate change.

The purpose of this Story Map is to provide Fairfield residents with resources and information to make their own informed decisions about the level of preparedness for coastal hazards. The accessibility of this resource should allow residents to understand current and predicted changes to climate related risk.

This Story Map was created by Kristopher Dow. Kristopher is junior studying Environmental Engineering and Urban and Community Studies at the University of Connecticut ('24). Advisement with this project was provided by Flood & Erosion Control Board Chair, Becky Bunnell, and Assistant Planning Director, Emmeline Harrigan. Additional support for this project was given by UConn Extension Educators coordinated by Juliana Barrett.

Data

CT DEEP,  CTECO ,  CIRCA ,  UConn CLEAR,  FEMA NFHL

Cover Photo

Sally Harold

Number of properties in Fairfield impacted by hurricane surge by each category of hurricane

Sea level rise projections for Connecticut. Local tide gage observations (blue), the IPCC (2013) RPC 4.5 model simulations near Long Island Sound (yellow), the semi-empirical models (orange) and ice budgets (magenta) as in CPO-1 (CIRCA)

Effects of 1, 3 and 6 feet of sea-level rise in town of Fairfield. Fairfield is the most susceptible Connecticut town to coastal sea-level rise with the most amount of residents that would be displaced in the state. Published in Underwater report by the Regional Plan Association in 2016.

"sunny day flood" in Fairfield (FECB)

Rooster River flooding in 2018 (FECB)

Example of FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Fairfield.