THE CITY OF NORFOLK’S OHIO CREEK WATERSHED PROJECT

Contact:

Traci Munyan

traci.munyan@dhcd.virginia.gov

Norfolk's Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village neighborhoods have been selected to participate in a transformational coastal improvement project. This $112 million project will reduce flooding, improve public spaces and ensure these communities thrive for years to come. The Ohio Creek Watershed Project is part of Norfolk’s Resilience Strategy and supports its three goals: design a coastal community capable of dealing with the increased risk of flooding, create economic opportunity by advancing efforts to grow existing and new industry sectors, and advance initiatives to connect communities, deconcentrate poverty and strengthen neighborhoods.

The Ohio Creek Watershed includes two residential, predominantly African American neighborhoods with civic leagues and a strong community identity, including historic Chesterfield Heights with over 400 houses on the Historic National Register and Grandy Village, which includes a public housing community with more than 300 units. The Ohio Creek Watershed experiences tidal and precipitation flooding. Only two roads access the community. One road is completely impassable during regular nuisance flood events. Residents have expressed concerns about being cut off from the rest of the city. Residents have also expressed concerns about shoreline erosion that exacerbates river flooding and prevents recreational activity. To address these challenges, the project is exploring various landscape and hardscape options to improve flooding, public access to the waterway and connections to the rest of the city.

Norfolk was awarded a $112 million HUD grant from the National Disaster Resilience Competition for the Ohio Creek Watershed Project. The project is exploring various landscape and hardscape options to improve flooding, public access to the waterway and connections to the rest of the city.

Stormwater Management-Pump Stations/Tide Gates

A tide gate structure will be integrated into the coastal flood protection and raised roadway on Kimball Terrace. It will restore ecological function to the wetlands and protect the neighborhood from tidal events. In addition, upgrades to the subsurface drainage system and construction of coastal flood protection will necessitate the installation of several pump stations to discharge stormwater into the Elizabeth River.

Stormwater Management -Water Retention Street Retrofit

To reduce stormwater flooding during 10-year rain events, several streets will be retrofitted with green infrastructure and drainage network improvements to slow, store and infiltrate stormwater. In addition to reducing flooding risk, streets retrofits will help minimize pumping requirements, demonstrate green infrastructure techniques, increase pedestrian access and safety, and beautify the neighborhoods.

Stormwater Management -Parcel Level Water Retention

As part of the multilayered approach to addressing stormwater flooding, parcel-level water retention improvements such as rain gardens will improve capacity to store water and reduce the intensity of stormwater runoff within the neighborhood.

Stormwater Management -Parcel Level Education Program

As part of the stormwater collection program and in order to bring about a community wide sense of responsibility for personal environmental impacts, the city will implement various initiatives to educate residents about the benefits of parcel- and street-level water retention green infrastructure.

Stormwater Management -Retention Ponds/Restored Wetland

The project takes advantage of the city's historic hydrology. Several wetland areas and filled tidal inlets will be restored to improve the capacity to store water.

Coastal Management-Living Shoreline

Living shorelines will provide erosion protection for coastal flood defense structures while creating new habitat and improving ecological functions of the Elizabeth River.

Coastal Management-Flood Walls

Several locations along the river front have inadequate space to provide a properly sloped berm due to the existing infrastructure in the project area. In these areas, a vertical flood wall is proposed on the river side.

Coastal Management-Coastal Berm

A gradually sloped, vegetated berm will be built as a part of the coastal protection system to keep storm surge out of the Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village neighborhoods. The berm will be visually integrated into the existing landscape.

Coastal Management-Road Improvements

There are only two vehicular access routes into the area, and they are subject to flooding during storm events. Additionally, several roads within the neighborhood are impassable during heavy rain or high tides due to their low elevation or insufficient drainage capacity. To address this issue, critical roads will be raised to more than eight feet above sea level to provide dry and safe egress for residents. Roads that cross the coastal flood protection structures will be raised to 11-plus feet.

Land Acquisition

The project will require public easements on some existing private property to construct the coastal flood protection features.

Ohio Creek Watershed Planning

Over the past several months, the Ohio Creek Watershed Project has seen many ideas, concepts and strategies tested through charrettes, work sessions, and public meetings. In September, these efforts resulted in the final conceptual design which determined coastal and stormwater project elements that will progress to the schematic design and environmental permitting.

OHIO CREEK WATERSHED ENVIRONMENTAL (669)