After an October coastal storm system pushed water into neighborhoods across Hampton Roads, Norfolk leaders are renewing their warning to state lawmakers: coastal flooding is a risk and slow-moving protection projects could stall without a stronger funding partnership from the commonwealth.
The renewed push follows last week’s meeting of the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding in Richmond, where Norfolk Chief Resilience Officer Kyle Spencer and State Sen. Angelia Williams Graves (D-21st District) outlined the region’s flood risks and the financial gap they say is blocking billions of federal dollars.
Spencer told lawmakers Norfolk is now experiencing some of the fastest rates of sea level rise on the East Coast. He said flooding during the October storm — along with repeated tidal events that hit on perfectly clear days — shows how routine and unpredictable the threat has become. Norfolk is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the $2.6 billion Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project, also known as Resilient Norfolk. The multidecade plan includes floodwalls, levees, surge barriers, tide gates, pump stations, nature-based defenses, and a home-elevation program intended to protect thousands of residents and key infrastructure…