Shore Infrastructure

More than 6 inches of rain fell on parts of Gouldsboro in less than two hours on the morning of June 9, 2021, washing out the culverts under the road between Prospect Harbor and Birch Harbor. Looking back in time, this was an unusual event. But it will be less unusual in the years to come. According to the 2020 Update of Maine’s Climate Future, annual precipitation in Maine has increased rapidly over the past two decades. Most of this increase is due to heavy, intense precipitation events.

For Gouldsboro, with its diverse terrain that ranges from steep ridges to large saltmarshes, larger, more frequent storms have the potential to overwhelm town infrastructure, much of which was built years ago for a different climate. This is especially true along the shore, where intense storms include strong winds. As sea level continues to rise, the combination of a fierce storm with lots of rain and strong winds at high tide can do significant damage. Gouldsboro’s Shore and Storm Project supports the town in identifying locations and infrastructure that are most at risk and planning action to reduce those risks.

Latest Posts

Coastal Resilience Committee

Gouldsboro has established a new Coastal Resilience Committee to help find funding for improvements to roads, buildings, harbors, and other infrastructure vulnerable to storm damage and sea-level rise. This post describes the committee and how it grew from Gouldsboro’s work over the past several years.

Scuttlebutt

Scuttlebutt is Gouldsboro’s newly published guide for folks who have just come to Gouldsboro or are thinking about buying property here and for folks who live here and love the place. This article tells you how how to get a copy.

Shore Erosion Talk

UPDATE! You can also join the Shore Erosion talk at 7 PM, Sept. 12 using Zoom!! Go to the full post to get the link.