Attendees of the Captiva Erosion Prevention District’s first public outreach meeting on the Captiva Bayside Adaptation Plan had the opportunity to share their experiences and preferences via a live poll.

CEPD consultant APTIM and its team hosted the virtual meeting on May 9 to discuss the purpose of the plan and possible adaption measures, as well as to gather community input and suggestions.

The team reported that there was over 7 feet of water for several hours in Hurricane Ian, resulting in submerged docks, damages and power outages, according to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. Currently, about 35% of the bayside is armored with seawalls and 50% has mangroves.

In the first poll question, attendees reported on the flood impacts to them and their property:

– Standing water in your backyard: 4

– Damage to your house: 4

– Damage to your dock: 3

– Power outage: 3

– Evacuation: 2

– Flooded roads or impassable driveways: 5

– Financial losses: 4

– Erosion of land or landscaping: 4

– None of the above: 1

– Other: 0

Attendees reported what measures they have taken to protect their property from flood risks:

– Installed a seawall: 2

– Raised the foundation of my house: 1

– Installed swales to manage surface water runoff: 2

– Built on-site retention ponds: 1

– Installed sump pumps: 1

– Planted flood-resistant vegetation: 2

– Enhanced vegetation buffers such as mangroves: 4

– None of the above: 3

– Other: 0

In terms of adaptation measures for the project, the team explained that the options could range from natured-based methods to armored shorelines. Living shoreline implementation, wetland restoration, oyster restoration, artificial reef balls and living seawalls were some of the examples that it provided.

The team noted that the project could be scaled for a property, islandwide or a combination.

In a third question, attendees reported which adaption project scale was preferred:

– Property scale: 1

– Island scale: 1

– Combination of property and island scale projects: 12

As for the elements of the project, the team outlined the following:

– Strategies: Identify strategies to address needs and risk; identify focus areas; and protect, accommodate, retreat, avoid

– Resident and stakeholder involvement: Discuss experiences and needs; prioritize properties; establish buy-in; and ongoing ground-truthing and direction

– Prioritize projects: Focus on nature-based and hybrid solutions; visuals and designs; adapt shoreline to complement islandwide flood mitigation; and funding application

For the final question, attendees reported what types of adaptation strategies they thought would be most effective and most accepted by property owners to address flooding issues on the bayside:

– Nearshore breakwater installation: 6

– Implementation of native vegetative or mangroves: 5

– Construct vegetated swales along property boundaries or driveways: 4

– Nearshore artificial reef installation: 5

– Seawall and living shoreline design standards within the development code: 6

– Landscaping guidelines for nature estuarine and dune species: 4

– Policies in partnership with the county that mandate the incorporation of specific redevelopment design standards: 3

– Minimum shoreline elevation policy for bayfront properties: 7

– Implementation of a resilient dune strategy: 5

– Implementation of a mangrove adaptation plan: 6

– Tidal gates and valve installation: 4

– Roadway drainage improvements: 6

– Other: 2

The second meeting will be held virtually on June 27 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the CEPD at https://www.mycepd.com/bayside-adaptation.