The city of Virginia Beach is in the midst of a massive, long-term effort to protect itself from rising waters.
In 2021, voters approved a $567 billion bond referendum to finance the Flood Protection Program, which is replacing and expanding outdated infrastructure to better drain streets and absorb excess water.
But that work is limited to public rights-of-way, said Kyle Coolbaugh, an extension agent in the city’s stormwater department.
“We can't use public funds necessarily to improve flooding that's happening to private properties,” he said.
Now, the city’s launching an initiative to help bridge the gap. The Stormwater Extension Program will connect interested residents with resources to guide them to the best ways to address flooding on their own property.
“The tools that are there and the knowledge and expertise that the city can provide to homeowners and business owners will help them to find the right contractors and engineers to really mitigate the flooding that they're experiencing,” Coolbaugh said.
The Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission offers a similar program.
The Beach has long conducted computer modeling, designed construction projects and updated city planning documents to factor in growing threats from climate change, such as sea level rise and increased rainfall. Officials now want to share that knowledge with citizens, down to the parcel level, he said.
Many areas, such as neighborhoods along Back Bay in southern Virginia Beach, have always experienced flooding, due to winds that push tidal waters onto land. But rising water levels and sinking land are making floods more common and severe, Coolbaugh said.
“So we look at what role we can play in protecting these communities and keeping them resilient in the decades to come,” he said. “The city alone cannot build a flood-resilient community. We have to have residents involved, active and aware of how flooding affects them.”
For the new Stormwater Extension Program, staff came up with a suite of 17 strategies residents can use to mitigate flooding, depending on their priorities and the extent of their issues.
The solutions fall into five broad categories:
- Green strategies, which use natural features to absorb water. That includes planting trees, creating living shorelines and using rain barrels.
- Keeping water away with small-scale floodwalls or sump pumps.
- Diverting water with private drainage systems, sluice gates or by cleaning and cutting ditches.
- Living with water, which means reducing damage from floodwaters rather than pushing it away. Strategies include raising electrical equipment to higher floors, installing openings at the bottom of a house to direct water to certain enclosed spaces and fully elevating homes.
- Promoting infiltration, such as using permeable pavement and perforated piping to allow water to seep into soil underground.
The program cannot provide direct funding, but will direct residents to appropriate grant or loan opportunities, as well as data tools to help illustrate risk, Coolbaugh said.
Another advantage, he said, is helping residents “battle bureaucracy,” by serving as a go-between with different levels of government requirements.
The program soft-launched early last year and has opened 18 cases so far. Each has required coordination with either private developers, federal and state officials or other city departments.
The Stormwater Extension Program officially launches July 31. Residents interested in learning more can visit virginiabeach.gov/stormwaterextension or email stormwaterextension@vbgov.com.
