"Adaptation: Can Sewage Save Sinking Coastal Virginia?"

"SUFFOLK, Va. — People here in coastal Virginia are beginning to see changes: Tides are a little higher, storms bring water into the streets and basements sometimes flood.

In Fort Norfolk, where charming houses and pristine gardens edge the Hague — a horseshoe-shaped inlet of water that dips in from the Elizabeth River — nuisance flooding has become more common. Norfolk is part of a larger region called Hampton Roads, where storms are starting to bring the ocean inland. Last month, a gale swept water into the streets of Virginia Beach, cutting off road access to the narrow strip of land on which the community of Sandbridge is located.

Residents aren't necessarily talking about climate change, said David Nelms, with the U.S. Geological Survey's Virginia Water Science Center. But they are definitely noticing something.

'It doesn't matter what's causing it,' Nelms said, 'because people are getting their feet wet.'"

Kavya Balaraman reports for ClimateWire July 6, 2017.