BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 6, 2021
Bath, the 8,500-resident “City of Ships,” is among the places in Maine facing the greatest risks from increased coastal flooding because so much of it is low-lying. The rising sea level in Bath threatens businesses along Commercial and Washington streets and other parts of the downtown, according to an analysis by Climate Central, a nonprofit science and journalism organization. State estimates warn the damage from 3.9 feet of sea level rise by 2100 would cost the state well over $1 billion, almost evenly divided between building and gross domestic product losses. Bath plans to add a walkway on the northern waterfront, initially envisioned for economic development, that will create a buffer to help avoid business flooding.