Boston is teaming up with the US Army Corps of Engineers to build flood protection projects along our coastline.
The USACE will release a draft plan to the public onFriday, July 24, and wants to hear from you.
Here's what it is, what it says, and what the City thinks about it:
Read the ReportA link to the draft will be available on 7/24.
A link to the draft will be available on 7/24.
In 2022, the City and the USACE started formally studying how to protect Boston from coastal flooding through projects we could build together.
This report, called aDraft Feasibility Report, is the result.
It's the USACE's plan for where to build flood protection, what to build, and roughly when.
It's a draft, and the USACE wants your feedbackbefore September 18, 2026, before they lock anything in.
The final version goes to Congress in 2028.
This work started before 2022.
The draft report builds on nearly a decade of Boston's own planning in the 2016 Climate Ready Boston report and neighborhood-by-neighborhood Coastal Resilience Solutions plans followed. That work is the foundation the USACE study builds on, and a lot of what's in this draft reflects what Boston residents already told the City they wanted over years of community meetings.
The risk is real today.
According to the USACE, over 40 percent of Boston residents live in areas that are at risk of coastal flooding.
If we do nothing, the USACE estimates that residents, businesses, and the public sector could face $54 billion in losses between 2040 and 2090.
This work is important to all of Boston, not just coastal neighborhoods.
Flooding could compromise your access to job opportunities, hospitals, the MBTA, I-93, the Mass Pike, Logan Airport, and more.
Building coastal infrastructure will also protect places further inland in Dorchester, Roxbury, the South End, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, East Boston, Charlestown, and even Allston.
This work takes time.
Infrastructure like floodwalls take years to design and build.
The decisions Boston and the USACE make in the next few years determine what protections are actually in place by the time we need them.
The plan focuses on walls and retrofits.The USACE looked at three ways to fight flooding: building floodwalls, retrofitting individual buildings, and policy changes like better evacuation planning.
The report focuses on shoreline protection.
It covers 16 miles of Boston’s 47-mile coastline across 5 neighborhoods:East Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, Downtown/ North End and South Boston.
In some spots, the USACE already feels fairly certain of the option they’ll propose.
In others they’re still deciding.
Either way, we want your feedback.
It’s not cheap, but it pays off.USACE estimates that these projects could cost between $9 and $10.5 billion.
However, this price tag doesn't include upgrades like green spaces and outdoor recreation areas along Boston Harbor.
Adding those features will make these projects more expensive, and the City will look to federal, state, and private funding sources to pay for them.
But the payoff is huge: USACE predicts the draft plan would prevent about $41 billion in damage.
In other words, every $1 spent on these projects saves residents, businesses, and the government about $4.
Projects along the waterfront. This matches what Boston residents told us they wanted, going all the way back to our 2016 Climate Ready Boston plan.
The case for investment in Boston.$4 back for every $1 spent is a strong case for federal investment in our city.
Early action.The USACE is planning to support the City’s proposed design for Moakley Park.
Getting started on this project now will help us improve our process for working with the USACE for other projects later.
Some proposed floodwall placements.The City prefers the options that protect the most and keep our waterfront connected. In East Boston, the draft proposes one wall through yards and driveways on Border Street, and another down the median of Route 1A at Chelsea Creek.
The City wants waterside routes instead.
In the North End and at the Flynn Marine Park in South Boston, we're pushing for the full perimeter protection option over a partial one.
Infrastructure that blends with natural systems.The plan mostly proposes building with stone and concrete.
There are few plans for wetlands, living shorelines, or fixes for increased stormwater flooding.
The City wants clearer answers on where those options fit in and who pays for them.
Share your feedbackThe public comment period runs from July 24 to September 18, 2026.
Read the sections of the plan that concern your neighborhood and interests.
Tell the USACE what you think.
Help us get this right.
USACE Study HOMEpage
Read the ReportA link to the draft will be available on 7/24.
A link to the draft will be available on 7/24.