Smart Strategies for Sustainable Watersheds: Community-Driven Solutions in Aberdeen Gardens
This presentation will review the collaborative effort with the community in developing the Aberdeen Gardens Watershed Study. The presentation will highlight various components of the Study that integrated community collaboration including the strategies used to obtain community feedback on the Study, using the community feedback in the development of the Power BI project prioritization tool, and the next steps for the City, including funding plans for certain projects discussed in the Watershed Study which will continue to involve community input.
Aberdeen Gardens is a residential neighborhood and National Historic District located in Hampton, VA. Initially built as a farming development under the New Deal in 1937, the neighborhood has undergone significant development since its original construction. Due to its location near Aberdeen Creek, the area has a history of flooding. Many of the homes were built near both tidally influenced creeks and within the 100-year floodplain thus putting many of the residences at risk of flooding. Additionally, given the neighborhood’s age approaching 100 years, much of the original stormwater infrastructure is inadequate given today’s increased precipitation and revised design standards since the neighborhood’s initial construction.
Previous efforts to document flooding concerns in Aberdeen Gardens included citywide stormwater studies and a Community Resilience Action Plan (RAP) developed by Wetlands Watch; a non-profit organization focused on enhancing natural resilience, bolstering community adaptation efforts, and protecting and restoring wetlands throughout Virginia. Over the past year, over 50 potential stormwater solutions have been identified to mitigate flooding in the neighborhood. Since the implementation of these projects will require support from the community to implement, the City, Consultant, and Wetlands Watch, attended multiple civic league meetings in person to review and obtain input from the community on the projects identified in the Study.
Through the partnership between Wetlands Watch and the City as well as the creation of Joint Community Meetings, the two largest civic league associations have resumed collaboration after a period of disagreement. As a result of ongoing collaboration among the community, the City, and Consultants, it has enabled the City to develop a strong position for seeking funding for the implementation of the projects identified in the Study.
Author Bio
Mr. Smith is a Coastal Resilience Engineer for the City of Hampton, with a primary responsibility for stormwater management and assisting the implementation of the Resilient Hampton initiative, working to develop and implement adaptation and mitigation strategies in response to Climate Change. Scott’s career spans 37 years, 26 years in consulting and 11 years in the Public Sector. He is a Professional Engineer, a Licensed Land Surveyor and a Certified Public Works Professional. Scott is a Past President of the APWA Mid-Atlantic Chapter. Mr. Carollo is a professional engineer focused on stormwater infrastructure and site/civil design. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Civil Engineering in 2018. He is currently responsible for the design of stormwater management systems and modeling of small and large-scale municipal stormwater systems. He has worked with all localities in the Hampton Roads region and has served as the Norfolk Branch President for the ASCE.
