Newport receives funds to aid King Park’s constant fight against floods. What’s being done

The city of Newport received a $2.4 million grant to repair the seawall at King Park, improving the area’s resilience against flooding from storms and high tides.

“As a coastal community, we’re feeling the impacts of increasingly severe weather, from coastal erosion to abnormally high tides, that combined with high winds and flooding are swamping Newport treasures like King Park,” Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong said in a statement. “We need to aggressively pursue every available resource to help Newport make the investments it needs to weather these events. Using this $2.3 million grant from the Infrastructure Bank, we will make King Park more resilient by removing a portion of the existing seawall, expanding the beach area, and planting salt tolerant plants. These investments will help mitigate the damage that can be caused by flooding events and ensure that King Park will be a beautiful recreational asset for Newport residents and visitors for decades to come.”

Waves crash against the sea wall at King Park in Newport as a nor’easter made its way through the area on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021.

Newport is one of 20 municipalities receiving grants totaling $12 million from Gov. Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. The money is being pulled from the $16 million Green Bond voters approved in 2022. Newport is receiving the largest grant from this round of recipients to the tune of $2,392,884.

In the project proposal description, the city states the vertical wall on the eastern side of the park is failing, allowing water to spill over the wall during major storms or high tides and causing erosion behind the wall, which compromises the Harbor Walk in that area. It also states erosion on the small beach on the park’s west side has negatively impacted public access and jeopardizes the nearby dinghy rack and kayak storage area.

Weather effects: Storm batters Newport, Middletown coastlines. Can beaches continue to take the brunt?

With the money, the city plans to remove the easternmost portion of the seawall and expand the beach, as well as adding salt tolerant plants. For the rest of the seawall next to the ball field, the city plans to install a sewer pump station, a storm drain outfall, and another seawall at the far eastern corner of the harbor as well as regrade the bank and install a rip rap wall. For the western beach, the city states it is going to cover the eroded portions with coconut fiber coir logs and cover with beach sand.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: King Park improvements aided by $2 million RI Infrastructure grant