Stormwater Extension and Building a Resilient Community
The City of Virginia Beach's Stormwater Extension Program focuses on building a resilient community of residents and businesses aware of how flooding, drainage, and stormwater affect their lives. Residents often feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to mitigate flooding they experience outside of the right of way, whether it is the cause of the flooding, the wide variety of products and professionals available offering to solve the issue, or the bureaucracy that stands between them and a mitigation strategy. Through a combination of one-on-one interaction, advocacy on behalf of the citizens through all levels of government, engagement with wide swaths of the population, and incorporation of new and existing technology, the Stormwater Extension Program puts the citizens first. This presentation will cover the design of the program and the elements in place to carry out the goal of creating a resilient community.
Author Bio
Kyle Coolbaugh is a Certified Floodplain Manager with over 9 years' experience with the City of Virginia Beach Public Works Engineering and Operations divisions. A life-long resident of rural Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, he has seen first hand the devastating effect flooding can have on communities through experience in countless hurricanes, nor'easters, wind driven, and extreme rain events. A graduate of Old Dominion University, he has worked for years to implement new technology and methodologies to help Virginia Beach meet the challenges of a changing and dynamic coastal environment.
