Port of San Francisco, adaptive waterfront defenses for rising seas

The Port of San Francisco manages 7.5 miles of waterfront, from Aquatic Park to Heron's Head Park (Port of San Francisco, n.d.a). The Embarcadero Seawall was built on weak young bay mud and supports more than $100 billion in assets and annual economic activity (Port of San Francisco, n.d.b). The Embarcadero already floods during king tides (Port of San Francisco, n.d.b). The Port's planning context is to adapt shoreline elevations to 3 to 7 feet of sea level rise expected by 2100 (Port of San Francisco, n.d.c). It cites the USGS estimate of a 72 percent chance of at least one magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the Bay region over 2014 to 2043 (Port of San Francisco, n.d.b; USGS, 2016). This wide range of possible futures makes a single fixed design height risky.

Approach

Mix approaches by reach. The Port sets out three options: defend by raising the shoreline, accommodate by adapting buildings and infrastructure in place, and retreat by moving them inland. It states that no single approach will meet the needs of the entire waterfront (Port of San Francisco, n.d.d).

Design for a stated amount of rise, then adapt. The Port and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ran the San Francisco Waterfront Flood Study over nearly eight years. A Draft Plan went to public review in 2024. The Recommended Plan shows where to build coastal flood defenses and how much sea level rise they will manage before they need to be adapted to higher water levels (Port of San Francisco, n.d.a).

Plan monitoring and adaptation formally. The Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement, released in 2026, includes a Monitoring and Adaptation Plan (Appendix G) and an Engineering with Nature appendix (Port of San Francisco, 2026).

Start with near-term projects. Near-term projects are funded through the Proposition A General Obligation Bond. The Port describes them as the first step toward long-term, waterfront-wide resilience (Port of San Francisco, n.d.e). Downtown, full seawall replacement is planned for the most vulnerable segment, with targeted flood protection and seismic strengthening from the Ferry Building to Pier 9 (Port of San Francisco, n.d.f).

Raise assets when they are replaced. The Wharf J9 project will replace an at-risk seawall and wharf with structures that are stable in earthquakes and elevated for sea level rise. It is delivered in phases (Port of San Francisco, n.d.g).

Results

The Flood Study was finalized in August 2026 with the release of the Recommended Plan (Port of San Francisco, n.d.a). At Wharf J9, construction of the Phase 1 accessible float was completed in January 2025, and Phase 1.5 construction started in October 2025. Concept design for Phase 2, the seawall and wharf replacement, is expected to start in 2027 (Port of San Francisco, n.d.g). The long-term flood defenses are not yet built.