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National Park Service Outlines Proposed Improvements For Tidal Basin At National Mall

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By Compiled From N... - March 7th, 2023

The National Park Service has a plan for protecting the Tidal Basin in Washington from flooding/NPS file

The National Park Service is seeking public comments on the proposed rehabilitation of the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park seawalls at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

In the years since their construction, the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park seawalls have significantly settled and been compromised, leading to overtopping of the seawalls in some sections twice a day during normal tidal conditions, and the water does not dissipate in a timely manner due to poor drainage, according to the Park Service.

The work that needs to be tackled includes fixing a crumbling sea wall and halting daily tidal flooding that swamps sidewalks and adversely impacts roots of some of the roughly 3,000 cherry trees that color the mall each spring with their dazzling flowers.

The public is invited to review the Environmental Assessment (EA) and share comments through April 5 at go.nps.gov/seawall.   

Under the preferred alternative proposed in the EA, the Park Service would: 

  • Rehabilitate approximately 6,800 linear feet of seawall along West Potomac Park and portions of the Tidal Basin to extend the seawall’s life by approximately 100 years.   

  • Rebuild the seawall to include a pile-supported platform foundation that will prevent the seawall from settling and support height extensions of the wall if needed due to future rising sea levels or increasing storm surge elevations.    

  • Increase the seawall height 4.75 feet within the Tidal Basin and 5.50 feet along West Potomac Park to account for wind and wave conditions along the Potomac River.   

  • Salvage and reuse stones from the historic wall in the rehabilitated seawalls.  

  • Repair, or replace, and widen walkways around the Tidal Basin from eight to twelve feet wide to provide smoother, more accessible connections to other pathways.  

The planning and environmental compliance process for the proposed seawalls project is funded by the Great American Outdoors Act.

The public is invited to review the proposal and provide comments and ideas through April 5. To provide comments online or get additional information on the project, visit: go.nps.gov/seawall. If you prefer to mail your comments, make sure they are postmarked by April 5 to receive consideration.  

Comments may be submitted in writing to:  

Superintendent Jeff Reinbold 

National Mall and Memorial Parks 

1100 Ohio Drive, SW 

Washington, DC 20024 

ATTN: Seawall Rehabilitation EA 

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