Portsmouth to host 10th ‘Keeping History Above Water’ Conference

PORTSMOUTH — During the record-breaking December holiday storm, the city's historic neighborhoods saw a 14-foot tide flooding waterfront streets and buildings. In May 2023, as part of the city’s 400^th anniversary, Portsmouth will host the 10^th national Keeping History Above Water conference to examine how cities, neighborhoods, preservationists and engineers are partnering to protect resources from flooding. A key case study will look at the collaborative steps the Portsmouth, Strawbery Banke Museum and the University of New Hampshire are taking to address sea level rise.

The conference was created by the Newport Restoration Foundation and the first conference looked at best practices from Newport, Rhode Island. Subsequent conferences — in Annapolis, Maryland; St. Augustine, Florida; Palo Alto, California; Charleston, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia and Salem, Massachusetts — have begun to collect resources, experts and examples for others trying to keep their own histories above water.

“Water Has a Memory: Preserving Historic Port Cities from Sea Level Rise” will be held May 7-9 at AC Hotel downtown with site visits to examine the challenges from land and sea.

The conference opens with a reception Sunday evening featuring as keynote Howard Mansfield, author of the Yankee Magazine cover story, “Rising Seas” and several books.

The preliminary program also includes:

• Newport Restoration Foundation: How One Non-Profit is Tackling Climate Change.

• NOAA’s Flood Risk Assessment and Application Guide, Mark Osler, NOAA senior adviser for Coastal Inundation and Resilience.

• UNH Coastal Flood Risk Assessment and Guidance (2020), Cameron Wake, research professor, UNH Earth Systems Research Center and Josephine A. Lamprey, professor in climate and sustainability at the UNH Sustainability Institute.

• “Water Has a Memory” Update: Peter Britz, city of Portsmouth sustainability director, Rodney Rowland, Strawbery Banke facilities and environmental sustainability director, Michael Routhier, UNH Geospatial Lab;Measuring & Monitoring with Well Sensors; Black Heritage Trail of NH groundwater sensor project.

• Norfolk, Virgina: Testing the Flood Resiliency of Historic Materials (KHAW 2022 Update).

• Climate Action Planning at Historic New England: Preparing Historic Sites Now for Carbon Neutrality and Resilience, Ben Haavik, Historic New England team leader, Property Care.

• Salem’s House of Seven Gables and MA Coastal Zone Management, Susan Baker, House of Seven Gables.

• The Provincetown MA Flood Plain: Preservation Case Studies panel, Regina Binder.

• Implementing Resiliency Measures: A Case History of the Portsmouth’s 1860 Historic Shaw Warehouse, Cassie Bethany, Weston + Sampson, Project Manager, Landscape Architecture.

• A site visit to examine how Strawbery Banke master plan process to deflect surface flooding from its 17^th, 18^th and 19^th century buildings, with Horsley-Witten and PlaceWorks.

• A site visit examining the city’s resiliency plan to raise and move the 1806 Shaw warehouse back from the waterfront, with Weston + Sampson, Inc.

• Role of the federal government and climate change policy development by the Senate Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Sara Bronin, president and Cornell University fellow, Atkinson Center on Sustainability.

• A Tale of Three Storms: National Park Service superintendent’s super-storm experiences at three NPS historic sites, former NPS Superintendent Dave Luchsinger.

• Living Above the Street: Flood Retrofitting and Adaptive Streetscape of New York City's Historic Districts, Ziming Wang, M.S. Columbia University.

• Adapting to Change: How Portland, Maine, Is Dealing with Sea Level Rise, Preserving History, Ian Stevenson, Greater Portland Landmarks & Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

• Kennebunk’s Dock Square and Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Abbie Sherman, Southern Maine Planning & Development Commission.

• Increasing Climate Resiliency through Selective Dam Removal While Preserving Our Past, Quinn Stuart and Peter Walker, VHB Cultural and Environmental Services.

Conference registration is now open at simpletix.com. The $200 fee covers all sessions, a welcome reception on Sunday night, continental breakfast, breaks and box lunches on Monday and Tuesday. Those who register before April 1, receive a 10 percent discount (use code 22EARLY BIRD).

To receive the KHAW rate at the AC Hotel, go to: marriott.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH to host 10th ‘Keeping History Above Water’ Conference