Twin Point Cove is a small peninsula in northwest Dorchester County. This community is a microcosm of what is happening throughout the County and in coastal Maryland. As the sea level rises, residents over the past five years have seen an accelerated diminishing of coast line, marshes, loss of trees to salt water intrusion, and more frequently flooded roads.  Given its vulnerability to nuisance flooding, storm surge, erosion, and sea level rise, the County in partnership with the community would like to conduct a resiliency study of the current status of the built and natural environment, and utilize that information to identify short, mid and long term options to adapt and mitigate flood impacts.
 
Dorchester County has been awarded a Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Grant for a Coastal Community Resiliency Study for Twin Point Cove, to develop strategies to mitigate the impact of nuisance flooding, storm surge, erosion and projected sea level rise. The study will rely on the relationship within the close-knit community to incorporate community knowledge and provide an ecological assessment of the lands, marshes, and shoreline as well as evaluate the risk to the built environment. The analysis will provide the understanding, cost considerations and scientific basis to identify on-the-ground implementation projects such as marsh restoration, shoreline stabilization and enhancement, storm water drainage, habitat restorations, infrastructure planning and adaptations options for private properties to reduce flood impacts between now and 2050. The study will also serve as basis to engage residents about potential long term strategy options.
 
PROJECT GOALS:
Dorchester County has adopted the 2017-2020 updated Hazard Mitigation Plan. This MEMA Grant for advanced flood mitigation planning is intended to implement that plan, and develop strategies and concept designs for flood mitigation projects to achieve the following:

 

• Integrate flood protection measures into the County’s built environment, in the area of Twin Points Cove area, to minimize adverse impacts on the population and private property, while preserving water access and views.

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• Provide multiple barriers to incrementally increase protection against sea level rise and major storms over time (immediate flood protection measures that can be adapted to future demand, off-shore barriers etc.).

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• While the concepts and designs may be specific to the Twin Point Cove area, the long term objective is to define tools and strategies that could be applicable to other low lying areas of the County.