CHARG is comprised of agencies and organizations across the region which are responsible for implementing solutions to address coastal hazards.
Our History
CHARG was initiated in 2014 by the public agencies responsible for implementing strategies to reduce the impacts of sea level rise, king tides, and extreme weather on San Francisco Bay shoreline communities. With more than 120 stakeholders, CHARG hosted focused workshops and sub-group meetings around the Bay Area to tackle the sea level rise-related policy, funding, and technical challenges facing the region. Providing a platform for local jurisdictions, NGOs, State and Federal agencies, and the public, CHARG addresses the many challenges to sea level rise at a regional scale and recognizes that a “One Bay” approach with a unified voice is essential to protecting our regional asset.
Acknowledging the growth in sea level rise awareness and regional adaptation planning around San Francisco Bay since 2014, CHARG shifted its focus in 2017 to supporting technical studies and solutions to inform regional adaption, policy, and funding decisions. In 2018, CHARG became a Strategic Initiative of BAFPAA. CHARG seeks to engage all local flood control districts and stakeholders from San Francisco Bay through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to advance the scientific foundation needed to direct sea level rise adaptation at a regional scale.
Our Future
CHARG envisions a future in which all residents of and visitors to the Bay area, and the important infrastructure, property, and other assets on which they depend, can thrive in the face of the coastal hazards facing our region. CHARG’s mission is to improve and protect quality of life for San Francisco Bay communities by providing the strong technical and engineering basis needed to support critical policy, funding, and implementation decision-making around regional sea level rise adaptation.
CHARG Leadership
Leadership is comprised of BAFPAA members representing flood protection agencies around the Bay.
Hank Ackerman
Alameda County Flood Control District
Paul Detjens
Contra Costa County Flood Control District
Roger Leventhal
Marin County Public Works
Richard Thomasser
Napa County Flood Control District
John Diaz
Sonoma Water
John Bourgeois
Valley Water
Len Materman
San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District
CHARG Steering Committee
The Steering Committee includes representatives from regional, state and federal agencies; private business and Non-Governmental Organizations with a focus or interest in addressing sea level rise. They provide thought leadership, technical guidance, and offer strategy input for CHARG.
Jacqueline Zipkin
Bay Area Clean Water Agencies/ East Bay Dischargers Authority
Tian Feng
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Vishal Ream-Rao
California Department of Transportation
Michael Anderson
California Department of Water Resources
Jim Haussener
California Marine Affairs and Navigation Conference
Alison Kearns
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Joshua Polston/Richard Sinkoff
Airport/Port of Oakland
Warner Chabot
San Francisco Estuary Institute
Jessica Fain
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
Eugene Ling
San Francisco International Airport
Lisa Horowitz McCann
San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board
Mike Mielke
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Moira McEnespy
State Coastal Conservancy
Mark Stacey
UC Berkeley, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Kristina Hill
UC Berkeley, College of Environmental Design
Tom Kendall /Julie Beagle
US Army Corps of Engineers
Patrick Barnard
US Geological Survey
What We Think...
The “one project one benefit” is a thing of the past. The leaders of San Mateo County and its partner cities know that a multi-jurisdictional, multi-benefit approach is needed to enhance our watersheds to make them sustainable and resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events.
— Erika Powell
Flood and Resiliency Program Manager, San Mateo County
Working together to develop solutions to the problems we all face is logical and cost effective.
— Richard Thomasser
Watershed and Flood Control Operations Manager, Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
The San Francisco Bay Area has all of the assets and capacity to be a national model for how an urban region at the edge of sea, adapts to climate change. Public, flood management officials must be at the forefront of that leadership.
— Warner Chabot
Executive Director, San Francisco Estuary Institute
San Mateo County recognizes that a “one shoreline” approach to creating resilient, 21st Century solutions is important to addressing sea level rise. Collaborating across jurisdictions is critical to protecting people, properties, and our ecosystems.
— Jim Porter
Director, San Mateo County Public Works
Climate change is the challenge of our
generation. It is worthy of our passion
and our future deserves it.
— Norma Camacho
CEO, Valley Water
Many of the industrial facilities along the Contra Costa County Shoreline are at great risk of disruption from rising seas. I’m happy to see the growing awareness of this issue, and the need for well thought out technical solutions. CHARG is the vehicle that can help provide that.
— Paul Detjens
Program Manager, Contra Costa County Flood Control District
As perhaps the most vulnerable of the nine Bay Area counties to sea level rise, Marin County has been a leader in pilot projects for natural (green) shoreline solutions such as tidal wetlands and bay beach designs. However, the predicted rise in sea level of several feet will likely require a mix of natural and more traditional engineering as well as innovative planning adaptation solutions. Education and outreach are also vitally important to adaptation planning. Marin County Flood Control will work within CHARG to design and implement solutions that meet these challenges.
— Roger Leventhal
Senior Engineer, Marin County Flood Control District
All our creeks drain to San Francisco Bay.
As sea levels rise, high water along the shore will flood our creeks and communities more often.
Rock Springs
Marin County
Marin County