Resilient Boynton Beach

South Florida is experiencing shifts in environmental conditions, including more frequent coastal flooding, stronger storms, heavier rainfall, and more days with high temperatures. These changing conditions can affect residents, infrastructure, natural resources, and the local economy.

Resilient Boynton Beach is an initiative focused on helping the community prepare for, withstand, and recover from a variety of challenges—such as natural hazards, economic disruptions, public health events, and housing pressures. A resilient community is one that can effectively allocate resources to enhance preparedness, mitigation, and response efforts across many types of risks. Working together with residents, local government, community organizations, and private partners helps ensure a strong, adaptable, and sustainable future for Boynton Beach.

_{Figure from the Coastal Resilience Partnership of Southeast Palm Beach County Multi-Jurisdictional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, July 2021.}

To support long‑term community well‑being, it is important to plan for a range of strategies that reduce risks and strengthen overall resilience.

The City of Boynton Beach is actively preparing for changing environmental conditions and long‑term community needs. Through coordinated planning, targeted investments, and strong partnerships, we are strengthening our infrastructure, improving public safety, and supporting a healthier future for all residents.

Assessing Risks & Planning for the Future

We completed a comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment that evaluated risks to neighborhoods, critical assets, and infrastructure from climate‑related threats including flooding, storms, extreme heat, and drought. This assessment now guides our long‑term adaptation planning and funding strategies.

The City participates in regional collaborations such as the Coastal Resilience Partnership and the Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit, ensuring alignment with best practices across South Florida.

Reducing Flooding & Strengthening Infrastructure

We are implementing prioritized stormwater improvement projects, watershed planning, and drainage upgrades to reduce flood impacts across the city.

The Boynton Beach Utilities Department plays a critical role in reducing flood risks and ensuring that essential water and wastewater systems remain reliable during extreme weather. Ongoing projects—such as the improvements in Lakeside Gardens and Coquina Cove—include sewer upgrades, water main replacement, drainage enhancements, and road restoration to improve system reliability and reduce future risks.

Improving Emergency Preparedness

Our efforts include expanding flood‑mitigation capabilities, enhancing emergency response readiness, and conducting community‑wide preparedness initiatives. These activities support Boynton Beach’s goals within the Community Rating System (CRS), where we currently maintain one of the highest classes in Palm Beach County.

Utilities staff are evaluating vulnerabilities within water and wastewater infrastructure, including risks from power interruptions, storm surge, saltwater intrusion, and heavy rainfall.

Addressing Extreme Heat & Public Health

Through the Climate Smart Communities Initiative, Boynton Beach received funding to develop the City’s first Urban Heat Resilience Strategy. This plan uses data‑driven insights to reduce heat risks and expand cooling access, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods. We’re partnering with the AGU Thriving Earth Exchange and Healthier Boynton Beach to develop a city‑wide heat resilience plan that integrates tree‑canopy data, weather records, and local infrastructure mapping.

Promoting Community Engagement & Environmental Stewardship

Annual events like Arbor Day celebrations engage residents in tree planting, environmental education, and volunteer cleanup activities to support a greener community. Public outreach through resilience speaker series, Earth Month activities, and community partnerships ensures residents stay informed and involved in resilience planning.

Flooding Information

Boynton Beach experiences several types of flooding throughout the year, including rainfall‑induced flooding, coastal flooding, and tidal flooding. Some areas of the city sit at relatively low elevations—less than 2 feet above sea level in places—which can make them especially vulnerable during seasonal high tides. You can learn more about flooding on the City's Public Safety Information Website.

Rainfall‑induced flooding occurs when heavy or prolonged rain overwhelms local drainage systems, leading to street flooding, standing water, and temporary access issues in neighborhoods. In Boynton Beach, this type of flooding represents one of the highest overall vulnerabilities, particularly in areas with aging infrastructure, low elevation, or where critical facilities and schools are located near waterbodies. Assessments show that even inland neighborhoods—such as Lake Boynton Estates and areas near Industrial Way—can be highly affected due to limited elevation and older drainage systems. As storm events become more intense, the City continues to upgrade stormwater infrastructure, refine watershed planning, and incorporate new data tools to better understand flood depth and mitigate risks.

King Tides

King Tides are unusually high tides that typically occur each fall as a result of natural variations in atmospheric and oceanic conditions. These tides can produce local “sunny day” flooding, or flooding that occurs even though there is no rain.

Boynton Beach’s low-lying, coastal communities are vulnerable to tidal flooding, which is likely to become more frequent and severe as sea levels rise. The City regularly maintains storm drains and catch basins, and has installed tidal valves in affected neighborhoods to reduce the impacts of high tides.

Sea level rise is caused by two factors related to climate change: added water from melting ice sheets & glaciers and the expansion of sea water as it warms. In Southeast Florida, sea level is expected to rise 5 to 13 inches by 2040 and 16 to 46 inches by 2070.

This will result in the following impacts:

Increased coastal flooding
Increased inland flooding due to impaired stormwater infrastructure
Increase in insurance cost
Decreased property values and tax base

How to prepare for King Tides events:

Move your vehicles to higher ground before the start of a king tide event
Have sand bags on hand
Review your flood insurance policy, or consider acquiring flood insurance
Identify alternative routes and do not drive through flooded areas
Remove garbage and recycling bins from the curb as soon as possible when expecting a king tide event
Consider obtaining an elevation certificate from a licensed flood insurance o Find more Flood information on the City of Boynton’s Public Safety Department webpage o Visit the Palm Beach County’s Department of Emergency Management for Flood Tips

Sea Level Rise

Sea level rise is an ongoing trend in South Florida, influenced by long-term ocean warming and changes in coastal water levels. As water levels gradually increase, low‑lying areas in Boynton Beach may experience more frequent coastal flooding, higher high tides, and greater impacts during storms. The City incorporates the latest sea level rise projections into its planning efforts—including updates to the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and development of a State‑aligned Adaptation Plan—to better understand local risks and identify strategies that protect infrastructure, safeguard public services, and support community resilience. Participation in regional planning workshops and coordination with neighboring agencies ensures Boynton Beach is preparing for future conditions using the best available science.

Sea Level Rise Resources

Groundwater Inundation

Groundwater inundation occurs when rising groundwater levels—driven largely by sea level rise—push water closer to the ground surface, eventually causing it to emerge above ground. This process can lead to persistent flooding even without rainfall, particularly in low‑lying areas where soils have limited capacity to absorb additional water. The City’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment identifies groundwater inundation as a significant and often underestimated flooding threat, noting that several areas east of Federal Highway and portions of the western barrier island already experience conditions where tidal and groundwater flooding are difficult to distinguish. As sea levels rise, groundwater-driven flooding is expected to extend farther inland, reducing stormwater infiltration capacity, increasing flooding depth and frequency, and posing risks to potable water supplies.

Partnerships

With the help of partnerships such as the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP) of Southeast Palm Beach County, the Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact (Compact), the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN), the Florida Sustainability Directors Network (FSDN), and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, Boynton Beach is committed to accelerating climate action through innovative solutions in resilience and sustainability.

The City aims to implement effective, efficient, and innovative strategies informed by recent developments in sustainability and climate resilience.

Coastal Resilience Partnership of Southeast Palm Beach County

The City of Boynton Beach is part of the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP) of Southeast Palm Beach County, made up of 7 municipalities and the county. The CRP works together to plan and implement climate adaptation strategies. To learn more about this partnership visit Costal Resilience Partnership webpage.

In 2021, the CRP completed a multi-jurisdictional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA). The CCVA evaluated different community assets to determine which ones are vulnerable to climate threats and identified adaptation strategies to be implemented. A summary of the assessment can be found in the Executive Summary and the full report here.

Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact (Compact)

The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact (Compact) is a partnership between Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties. The Compact is aimed to work collaboratively to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions, implement adaptation strategies, and build climate resilience across the Southeast Florida region. Instituted in 2010, the Compact established Southeast Florida as one of the nation’s earliest leaders to conceive of and formalize a collaborative regional approach to address climate change and continues to do so today.

In 2012, the Compact developed a Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP) and subsequent Climate Action Pledge to allow local and tribal governments to commit to a collaborative approach to climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. It is a voluntary framework designed to align, guide, and support the acceleration of local and regional climate action in Southeast Florida toward a shared vision of a low-carbon, healthy, prosperous, more equitable, and more resilient region. In 2022, the RCAP and Climate Action Pledge were revised to streamline efforts and provide recommendations to advance the objectives of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while strengthening the adaptive capacity and climate resilience of the region’s communities, institutions and economy.

The City of Boynton Beach has long exhibited leadership on climate and sustainability, having been at the forefront of adopting the initial RCAP document, development of a citywide Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, establishment of green programs, and creation of a sustainability program that reaches into several different aspects of the City. In 2023, the City of Boynton Beach adopted the revised Climate Action Pledge (Resolution No. R23-168) to strengthen the City's climate leadership by working towards aligning the City's individualized efforts with the regional framework established in the Compact's RCAP.

Climate change poses an immense threat to the region, but addressing climate change holds enormous promise to transform Southeast Florida into a more resilient, equitable, and thriving home for all.