The city announced this morning that it has hired FB Environmental and Acorn Engineering to conduct a visual inspection of Portland’s shoreline including Peaks Island, Great Diamond Island, Little Diamond Island, Cliff Island and Cushing Island.

This is in conjunction with the city’s development of a GIS-based mapping pool that will help staff better understand how sea level rise will impact our shorelne.  The process involves collecting data about a variety of coastal infrastructure within the boundary of the Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay Zone, such as:  Public buildings; roadways, bridges and culverts; sewer and stormwater systems; public utilities; piers, wharves and docks and beaches, dunes, bluffs and marshes.

The shoreline assessment will be conducted from the water with the assistance of the Harbormaster.  Residents may observe the Harbormaster’s boat and survey team at work between mid-August and early September.

They will be verifying existing spatial data about the type of shoreline present (natural or built) and will make a visual assessment of its current condition .  This data will inform future reilience planning and will be available to the public upon project completion.

The project is funded by a grant through the Maine Office of Community Affairs, which awarded the Cities of Portland and South Portland a joint Community Action Grant in 2025.  This grant was made possible by financial assistance under the Inflration Reduction Act adminisered by the Office for Coasal Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.