Norfolk recently won a $25 million state grant to support its massive effort to protect the city from catastrophic flooding during storms.
The city’s been working on the Coastal Storm Risk Management project, also called Resilient Norfolk, for more than a decade in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
It’s the largest infrastructure project in Norfolk’s history, including pump stations, tide gates and waterway surge barriers in addition to the flagship floodwall, which will wrap around downtown from Lambert’s Point to the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood.
The new grant comes from the state Community Flood Preparedness Fund, which was previously funded by Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed the state from RGGI, but Gov. Abigail Spanberger has vowed to rejoin, which could refresh funding.)
About half of the money will kickstart what the city calls the non-structural program, or flood mitigation at the individual property level.
Project officials have identified almost 1,000 properties that could be eligible for home elevations or basement fillings to reduce flood risk.
Kyle Spencer, Norfolk’s chief resilience officer, said they’re starting with 62 homes deemed most at risk in Willoughby Spit.
“The overall mission here is to reduce flood risk to the community,” he said. But “there's just no real way to wall off the Spit.”
Officials plan to knock on doors and gauge owners' interest in voluntarily participating, he said.
The rest of the $25 million will help cover pieces of the floodwall and surrounding infrastructure, such as temporarily relocating the Hampton Roads Transit ferry dock and building a bridge over Newton Creek.
Resilient Norfolk has an official price tag of roughly $2.6 billion, with the federal government picking up 65%. That leaves the city responsible for more than $900 million.
But last year, Army Corps officials said the overall cost is expected to rise. The Corps declined to provide a new estimate until the agency finalizes a related report.
The estimated end date for all parts of the project was also extended by five years to 2037.
When approving the project in 2023, Norfolk City Council stipulated that half of the city’s cost-share should come from the state, at least $455 million. To date, the state has given the city about $86.5 million.
Funding large flood projects is a growing issue in Virginia. Virginia Beach and the Peninsula are working on Coastal Storm Risk Management projects, for example, and would compete with Norfolk and others around the state for funding.
Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, has proposed a bill at this year’s General Assembly session that would establish a separate fund devoted to helping local governments pay for such projects.
Spencer said having a separate pot of funding could help take pressure off the Community Flood Preparedness Fund.
“We don't want to dilute or take over the majority of that money, just for our city.”
