Provincetown tests new flood mitigation technology

In December, Provincetown launched a Coastal Storm Flood Protection pilot project to test new flood mitigation technology and determine the best strategies for property protection and flood management.

A key component of the initiative is a new temporary flood barrier that can be deployed on short notice — about 50 interlocking L-shaped plastic pieces that rise to waist-level. The barrier pieces snap together and can be assembled in a matter of minutes.

“As a coastal community, we’re dealing with climate change, and feeling the effects of rising sea levels and the intensity of coastal storms,” said Provincetown Assistant Town Manager Dan Riviello.

At the outermost tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown is no stranger to coastal storms and flooding, but “it’s really accelerated” in recent years, Riviello said. Recent winter storms have brought strong winds from the south-southeast, “which has made a different area of town much more vulnerable and susceptible to coastal flooding.”

“The idea is we’re not going to be able to stop floodwaters from coming over the seawalls,” Riviello said. “What we’re trying to do with these barriers in that part of the east end [of Provincetown] … is blocking off Commercial Street in a part of the street with porous pavement and storm drains, hold it there for a couple hours past high tide … and allow water to flow in a controlled sense and get back out to the ocean.”

Even without complete water containment, the barrier can buy valuable time by slowing water movement to more vulnerable areas of Provincetown.

Town staff worked with the Select Board during the fiscal 2025 budget cycle to identify potential solutions. The Select Board proposed a $150,000 Capital Improvement Program request to fund the project, which was approved by Town Meeting.

Riviello said town staff worked with community stakeholders to “figure out some things that we could try and truly pilot here in Provincetown that would make a difference.”

The $150,000 expenditure covers the snap-together barrier, a metal barrier that adds height to a low coastal wall, catch basin cleaning, and an automatic sandbag filling implement that attaches to a front-end loader.

Provincetown’s Department of Public Works had the chance to test the technology during inclement weather in December. Although water never reached the barrier, staff used the experience as a dry run for future deployment.

The pilot program is part of a larger Coastal Resilience Plan that Provincetown is implementing to provide short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to guard against rising sea levels. The plan includes raising sections of streets and seawalls, replenishing dunes, building water management infrastructure, and working with homeowners to protect properties.

The plan, Riviello said, identifies “investments we need to make together to ensure Provincetown’s continued prosperity for decades to come.”

Provincetown leaders are planning to bring a $450,000 CIP article before Town Meeting this spring related to additional flood mitigation work.

Riviello said he is particularly proud of the town’s efforts to work with property owners to mitigate flooding, which is a relatively new stance for Provincetown.

“It’s incredibly stressful for people to feel like you have to hold the ocean back yourself,” Riviello said. “We’re not going to get this perfectly right, but we are doing our best, and we are trying whatever we can … to be present and helpful.”