Developing a Flooding Resilience Plan for Watersheds of the City of Chesapeake, Virginia
A resilience plan of the City of Chesapeake, Virginia, was completed in December 2023 to protect the city’s watersheds from current and future flooding expected from climate change and sea level rise. The plan was prepared by Timmons Group for the city and was supported by a grant from Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF). The plan incorporates five resilience plan requirements and 15 criteria provided in the grant manual. It was developed through a rigorous process starting with compiling all city and regional documents and was done in collaboration with multiple city departments. A list of the documents and identifications of the 15 grant criteria in each of them are shown in a matrix. Maps of essential city facilities that needed to be protected and city watersheds having master drainage plans used in flooding resilience analyses are included. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) snapshot documents are included to help locality vulnerability assessments, currently 13% of the total population and 12-13% of vulnerable populations live within the 100-year floodplain. The plan provides narrative on the requirements defined in the CFPF grant manual and has been organized into four sections and five appendices. Section 1 is the Introduction providing a description of the plan development process and a brief history of the city with respect to flooding. Section 2 is Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities describing hazards that threaten the city as well as where socially vulnerable populations intersect with those hazards. Section 3 is Current Efforts to Reduce Flooding and Develop Resilience detailing the various efforts already undertaken or underway by the city and regional partners that relate to flooding and resilience. Finally, Section 4 is A Plan for Resilience providing information on ongoing coordination efforts, the current science guiding resilience efforts and studies, programs, and project opportunities that the city plans to explore. Currently, the city has identified twenty-six projects with planned improvements in flooding resilience. These projects vary in scope, cost, funding availability, and anticipated implementation. The 26 projects and 21 key information/parameters on each are tabulated in a matrix. Finally, a set of Future Project Criteria was developed to allow the city continued participation in the CFPF program seeking funding assistance.
Author Bio
Ms. Crystal Bloom is currently the Engineering Manager of the City of Chesapeake Department of Public works – Engineering Division.
Dr. Deva Borah is currently a Senior Engineer in Stormwater Engineering with the City of Chesapeake Department of Public works – Engineering Division. During his over 40-year career, Deva worked for universities, government agencies, and consulting companies in Civil and Agricultural Engineering fields. He is specialized in hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality modeling and developed several model codes. He is one of the VLWA Board of Directors and chairs its Watershed Subcommittee.
