City of Alexandria Flood Mitigation Grant Program
The City of Alexandria, VA, was the first locality in the Commonwealth to develop and implement a locally administered flood mitigation grant program providing financial assistance to residents for the installation of eligible flood mitigation efforts. Launched in August 2021, following the effective date of state enabling legislation, the City’s pilot program provided a 50/50 match up to $5,000 per property for several types of practices. Launched in August 2021, following the effective date of state enabling legislation, the City’s pilot program provided a 50/50 match up to $5,000 per property for several types of practices. The pilot program focused on providing grants to properties that had evidence of flooding retroactively back to July 2019; a notable flooding event. As of November 2023, the City has awarded over $750K in funds to 250 applicants. The City recently adjusted the program to remove the requirement to provide evidence of prior flooding and to increase the award for common areas to $25,000 after feedback from the community and further revisions to the state enabling legislation. The program is operated out of the City’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, Stormwater Management Division and utilizes the City’s online permitting system to manage and track applications. The City and it’s consultant developed materials to assist residents in applying for the program. The grant program is part of the City’s Flood Action Alexandria program, launched in February 2021 in response to three severe storm events in 14-months which caused significant urban flooding across the community.Author Bio
Jessica Lassetter is a Senior Environmental Specialist / Civil Engineer III with the City of Alexandria’s Stormwater Management Division. Jessica has a Masters in Natural Resources and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech. Jessica has over 20 years of professional experience in environmental science, policy, and planning, with a specialization in water resources management. Jessica currently administers the City’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit focusing on water quality and most recently worked to launch the City’s Flood Action program. Prior to joining the City in 2019, Jessica served on the City’s Environmental Policy Commission for six years, held the role of Vice Chair, and helped launch the Eco-City Alexandria initiative. Jessica previously worked for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where she managed the Foundation’s multi-million dollar partnership with NOAA focusing on natural resource restoration efforts across the U.S.
