The obvious response to sea level rise and storm surges is to try and keep the water out by building things like walls. But there are other options. At the southern tip of Staten Island, New York, for example, a new near-shore breakwater system was just completed this past October.

Designed by landscape architect Kate Orff of SCAPE, the project cost $111 million, runs about 2,400 linear feet, and is designed to "break" future storm surge waves as they approach the coast. This won't completely eliminate the risks, but it will help to reduce them.

At the same time, by slowing currents next to the shoreline, these barriers are expected to reduce shoreline erosion (and eventually reverse it) and improve the overall habitat for plants and animals along it. The breakwaters themselves are also intended to attract organisms, hence the term "living."

It's a novel approach when it comes to flood infrastructure in the US. But it's certainly not a new idea:

Breakwaters is an ancient idea for how to protect shorelines – and the people who live close to them – by building underwater seawalls to defend a harbor or a beach from the force of waves. Kate has designed an extraordinary, modern-day interpretation, the Living Breakwaters, which will not only protect humans and revitalize the coastline of New York City, but also restore lost marine biodiversity. This is a visionary project that tackles the full task of adaptation, and which has the capacity to inspire and to positively impact vulnerable shorelines worldwide.

It'll now be interesting to see how this performs during storms. But in the meantime, you can find more information about the project on SCAPE's website.

Photo from SCAPE and Ty Cole