Environmental Impacts of Coastal Flooding

Regular flooding of Charleston effects us with closed streets, stalled cars, and many more inconveniences. We may fail to realize how detrimental flooding is to the environment, specifically to the salt marshes. Some may not know that salt marshes house incredibly diverse marine life and act as a nursery for many species. Having grown up in Charleston, I have fond memories associated with the marshes. Marshes don't only provide us with fond memories, they also protect us from the erosion of the coast and storm surges.
When floodwaters reach human development they come into contact with debris, chemicals, and raw sewage. After the floodwaters recede, we stop thinking about the flood and go back to living our normal lives, but the organisms that inhabit our mashes do not have this luxury.
Chemicals and sewage cause an excess of nutrients to enter the marshes. The influx of excess nutrients into ecosystems may not sound harmful since to us nutrients are associated with health. Ecosystems are immensely fragile systems and have evolved to operate with the conditions that naturally occur. The influx of nutrients can cause eutrophication which is the excess growth of plants encouraged by the newfound nutrients causing oxygen depletion. In many cases, the lack of oxygen is so severe that larger organisms may suffocate.
‘How can I help?’ you ask, well environmental change relies on the individual both to live as sustainably as possible but also for them to lobby for environmental change. You can put pressure on your local and state governments to pass regulations that would require businesses to operate more sustainably so fewer pollutants would enter our marshes. You can make a difference no matter how small it may feel.