Project Overview

Project Background

The City of Nanaimo has over 30 km of coastline along its shores with much of it developed into residential communities, commercial hubs, and corridors for essential services like transportation and utilities. The areas that remain undeveloped have diverse and sensitive ecosystems as well as prized scenic landscapes and views. These coastal areas hold great significance to many Nanaimo residents, providing endless community and environmental benefits. As climate change causes sea levels to rise, we will need to develop resilient strategies to protect what's important to us along Nanaimo's coast.

The City of Nanaimo, working with Snuneymuxw First Nation, is developing a Sea Level Rise (SLR) Management Plan to guide coastal adaptation solutions for areas of Nanaimo at risk of coastal flooding. This project builds upon the Sea Level Rise Study completed in 2018, which identified the study areas that are the focus of this project. The graphic below shows what features, based on the 2018 study, could potentially be impacted as sea levels rise by 2050*.

A graphic that shows the impacts of sea level rise on the Nanaimo coastline

The project is being done in coordination with the Regional District of Nanaimo's (RDN) Our Changing Coast project. If you are interested in regional sea level rise impacts and solutions beyond the City's boundaries, check out the RDN Our Changing Coast page on Get Involved RDN. A separate but related project for Nanaimo was necessary due to differing methodology from earlier studies and the need for more Nanaimo-specific information.

The project will consist of two phases that will include technical studies as well as engagement with key interest groups and the public. You can learn more by clicking each phase below. To find out more about how you can provide input on this project, please click the How Can I Get Involved tab!

Phase One of the Sea Level Rise Management Plan will improve our understanding of coastal risk through a number of technical studies. The technical information along with community and interest holder engagement will aid in the identification of the preferred sea level rise management options.

  1. Probabilistic Calculation – This calculates the possibility of multiple factors such as storm surge, wind speed, and king tide, occurring at the same time and impacting coastal flooding. This will help us to understand the likelihood of an extreme event occurring.
  2. Inundation Modeling – 2D modeling of waves will be completed to understand how wave conditions impact coastal flooding.
  3. Refined Flood Mapping – Based on the results of Steps 1 and 2, a refined coastal flood impact map will be developed to update the previous maps completed in 2018.
  4. Economic Risk Assessment – A report detailing the financial implications of rising sea levels to coastal infrastructure and properties will help us understand the economic risk to coastal areas and evaluate management options.
  5. Sea Level Rise Options Analysis – This will identify the preferred sea level rise management options and include community and interest holder engagement.

Phase One will be in process from SEPT-2025 until JUL-2026

Phase Two of the plan will focus on the development of sea level rise management options and develop a method of communicating the strategy to the public.

  1. Coastal Erosion Monitoring and Management Strategy - This report will show the extent of coastal erosion, how we can monitor future erosion and strategies to minimize future damage, which will help us understand the rate of coastal erosion and how we can protect ourselves from its impacts
  2. Communications Strategy - This strategy will summarize the findings from the Sea Level Rise Management Plan and communicate them in an easy to understand and engaging way.

Phase Two will be in process from FEB-2026 to SEPT-2026

Study Areas

This project will focus on low lying areas that are most at-risk of impacts of sea level rise:

  • Departure Bay (including Departure Bay Village and the ferry terminal)
  • Downtown Nanaimo (from Maffeo Sutton to the Assembly Wharf)
  • Protection Island and;
  • Duke Point
Map of study areas

How Can I Get Involved?

King tide inlet by park

King tide at Maffeo Sutton Park

Planning for sea level rise requires community input!

The technical studies will help us to understand what sea level rise problems and risks we will be facing in the future, but an important part of deciding how we tackle these problems is to identify what we value as a community. Those values will be discovered through focus groups, workshops, a survey, and meetings. We need to understand what our collective priorities are in order to map out the journey that we will take to get to our end goal.

Once there is an understanding of community values, we will take those along with the technical studies to create options for adapting to the risks of sea level rise. These options will not just be a single solution, they will be a combination of actions that we can take over time to stay ahead of increasing risks.

A graphic depicting the various engagement activities that will inform the project

Values Survey

A Values Survey will be released on February 17. This survey will help identify what people value in Nanaimo's coastal areas and what should be key considerations when evaluating adaptation options.

There are many types of values a community might hold related to coastal areas. Below are a few examples of values that might guide our coastal adaptation journey:

  • Access

    Access ensures we can continue to reach shorelines and low-lying areas for enjoyment. It also ensures uninterrupted services and emergency access during flood-events.

  • Equity & Culture

    Equity & Culture historically centers on marginalized communities, ensuring their needs and cultural priorities are considered.

  • Economics

    Economics involves protecting livelihoods, areas of investment and critical assets for long-term financial health.

  • Recreation

    Recreation needs to guide adaptation so that people can safely enjoy nature and community life as conditions change.

  • Ecology

    Ecology shapes coastal adaptation by prioritizing the protection and restoration of habitats that buffer storms, support biodiversity and provide co-benefits for people.

  • Infrastructure

    Infrastructure focuses on focuses on upgrading, relocating or reimagining built systems so they remain safe, reliable and flexible in the face of rising seas.

Options Survey

An Options Survey will be released in April 2026. This survey will present options for how we will tackle sea level rise in our community.

Options will include physical or policy changes that may need to take place along our shorelines in response to rising sea levels. These options can be broken down into four high level categories: Avoid, Retreat, Protect, and Accomodate.

A graphic showing the Sea level management options of avoid, retreat, protect and accomodate

The options presented will include adaptation actions that prepare for sea level rise by laying the groundwork for good decision making that supports future choices that are equitable, inclusive and informed by science, local knowledge and community values. This can include:

  • Building knowledge and capacity - Improving data, tools, monitoring and community understanding to support informed decisions.
  • Creating supportive policies and regulations - Updating land-use rules, regulations and decision-making frameworks so adaptation is seamlessly integrated into future development and plans.
  • Agreeing on how decisions are made - Establishing a shared approach to who makes decisions, what information is used and how actions are planned and funded — with attention to reducing disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities.