Hampton and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are teaming up to try to address the problem of coastal flooding on the Peninsula.
The entities recently announced they will work together to investigate flooding along coastal regions and rivers on the Peninsula that are exacerbated by sea level rise, including low-lying areas that have experienced repetitive damage from coastal storms, rainfall and flooding.
The Virginia Peninsula Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study, approved in December, is federally funded for an initial $3 million. The study area includes the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg, as well as York and James City counties. The area is bounded by the James River to the south, Chesapeake Bay to the east and the York River to the north.
Norfolk worked with the Army Corps of Engineers on a similar Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study several years ago. That work preceded Norfolk’s approval of a $2.6 billion flood mitigation plan that includes construction of a floodwall downtown.
Hampton, the Army Corps of Engineers and surrounding communities will use the study’s findings to develop a plan to manage coastal storm risk and improve the Peninsula’s economic resiliency. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the study will examine the interest and feasibility of potential solutions that could include flood-proofing or elevating buildings, nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration, and structural measures such as tide gates and flood walls.
“Hampton has taken a very proactive position on mitigating the impact of storms and sea-level rise,” City Manager Mary Bunting said in a release. “This is a study we have been seeking for several years and are pleased that it is moving forward.”
Michelle Hamor, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District’s planning and policy branch chief, said the Peninsula study will consider economic and engineering feasibility. The study will assess the economic benefit of flood-mitigating measures and the difference between the future without any project and the future with a project. The study will also consider regional economic benefits of direct investment on construction, such as jobs, earnings, etc.
“Economic damages will be calculated on residential, commercial and public structures to determine what damage can be expected if no measures are taken,” she wrote in an email response to questions about the project.
According to Hamor, engineering feasibility studies include design, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, geotechnical surveys, technical reviews, and failure analysis.
Hamor said the study and feasibility report could take more than three years to produce.
Hampton is the non-federal sponsor for the project, but Hamor said the study will also involve the participation of other municipalities in the study area, which she says “are vital to understanding existing conditions, past/current/future community initiatives, and the feasibility of implementing solutions that could potentially cross and/or be dependent efforts across municipal boundaries.”
Hamor said participation and feedback from citizens in all the municipalities included in the study is “of critical importance to this study.”
Bunting noted that “floodwaters cross borders” and said this comprehensive study is an opportunity for the Peninsula to have a regional planning approach for shoreline protection projects.
Hamor said studies completed by the Army Corps of Engineers often culminate in a report to Congress. This report, signed by the Army Corps of Engineers chief of engineers, recommends a plan for project construction. Once a signed chief’s report is complete, Congress must authorize and fund the project before design and construction can begin. She said projects of this nature are often authorized through the federal Water Resources Development Act.
Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com
A correction was made on January 25, 2024. Due to incorrect information provided to The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, an earlier version of this article said that projects of this nature are often funded through the federal Water Resources Development Act. A United States Army Corps of Engineers project would be authorized through WRDA but get funded through the federal budget.
