Coastal & Flood Resilience
An international planning collaboration with the government of the Netherlands, a college research center that field-monitors Charleston's own flooding, and a military-college climate center studying sea-level rise alongside its effects on national defense.
Dutch Dialogues Charleston
Over eight months in 2019, The Water Institute and Waggonner & Ball led Dutch Dialogues Charleston, an international planning collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Embassy and Dutch engineering firms Deltares and Arcadis, alongside local partners including the City of Charleston, Historic Charleston Foundation, and the College of Charleston. The resulting "Living with Water" design principles — covering drainage, marsh restoration, bioswales, and complete streets — were adopted unanimously by Charleston City Council to guide future water and land-use planning, and have since drawn additional National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funding for follow-on study areas.
Lowcountry Hazards Center, College of Charleston
Housed in the College of Charleston's Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, the Lowcountry Hazards Center works with the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium on geospatial flood-hazard modeling for the Charleston area. Under director Norm Levine, the center runs a student-staffed flood-monitoring project that documents flood depths and conditions across Charleston — from routine tidal flooding through major storms like Hurricane Dorian — against tide and rainfall data.
James B. Near Center for Climate Studies, The Citadel
The Citadel's Swain Family School of Science and Mathematics operates the James B. Near Center for Climate Studies, an interdisciplinary research center spanning physics, biology, engineering, and mathematics. Its research concentrates on three areas: climate risk to military operations and infrastructure, coastal flooding and sea-level rise in the South Carolina Lowcountry, and climate-linked public-health effects such as water quality and air pollution — a direct line between Charleston's flood exposure and the military installations that anchor much of the local economy.