Rising Sea Levels Could Cost California $21.9 Billion by 2040: Study

A water level marker is attached to a dock on Orange County’s Balboa Island on Oct. 20, 2018, in Newport Beach, after officials raised the island’s sea walls by nine inches. (Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Jul 4, 2019 / 08:56 AM PDT

Updated: Jul 4, 2019 / 08:56 AM PDT

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A climate study has estimated that California’s costs associated with sea level rise could be more than $21.9 billion by 2040.

KOMO-TV reported Wednesday that the Center for Climate Integrity conducted the evaluation of potential costs of constructing seawalls in 22 coastal states and the District of Columbia.

Florida ($75.8 billion), Louisiana ($38.4 billion) and North Carolina ($34.8 billion) are projected to have the highest costs.

California ranked eighth between South Carolina ($20 billion) and Washington ($23.9 billion).

The effects of rising sea levels can be seen on Balboa Island, where officials added a 9-inch concrete cap to about a mile and a half of the seawalls in a roughly $1.8-million project in 2017, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The study released in June says U.S. overall costs will top $400 billion.

The analysis was done in conjunction with engineering firm Resilient Analytics and the University of Colorado.