Larchmont is practically underwater.

Not the upscale Sound Shore community; this Larchmont is a middle-class neighborhood in Norfolk, VA that’s surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay and the mouths of several rivers.

Much of the area is under constant threat of inundation, as the surrounding waters have risen by 14.5 inches since 1930-the highest relative increase in sea level of anywhere on the East Coast. A recent New York Times article called Larchmont ‘the front line’ in the battle against rising waters and detailed the tribulations of local residents and the multi-million dollar projects that may or may not produce a solution.

But how far off is this headache for Westchester’s Larchmont and other communities along the Sound and the Hudson River? What does it mean for residents? The potential consequences could affect local utilities, regional commuters, waterfront businesses and local property owners.

‘It could happen next summer,’ said Kristin Marcell, a member of the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Hudson River Estuary program, referring specifically to a once-in-a-generation storm that, coupled with rising waters, could wreak havoc on waterfront developments, including homes, roads, train tracks and recreation areas.

Debates over the cause and extent of climate change continue to rage around the […]