NORFOLK, Va. — As the city of Norfolk works to protect the area from catastrophic storm surge with a $2.6B floodwall, some environmental organizations are frustrated it won’t help with the problem of everyday flooding that residents live with.
Kim Sudderth lives in the flood prone Berkley neighborhood in Norfolk, and she's already making plans for riding out Tropical Storm Ophelia.
"On a night like tonight, I typically move my car because there’s a little river that flows down my street," she said.
While she said the familiar flooding of her street is a hazard, she also worries about what will happen to the city if a hurricane hits.
"I’ve lived in Hampton Roads my whole life and we’ve always been afraid of the big one, like the Camille level hurricane," Sudderth said.
That’s something the city is working on preventing with a $2.6 billion floodwall in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It will include tide gates, levees, pump stations and nature-based features like oyster reefs and vegetation along the shoreline.
To begin, the city wants to build a hybrid, flood barrier system, consisting of a green levee extending from the I-264 Berkley Bridge, beyond Harbor Park.
It would add protections for thousands of people in areas like Tidewater Gardens, Young Terrace and Calvert Square. Some floodwalls already exist in Downtown Norfolk, whereas nothing is currently in place for those areas.
"It’s one step in saving this community that we all love," said Sudderth.
However, some organizations, like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, say the floodwall doesn't go far enough to stop both storm surge and "sunny day flooding."
"This is a worst-case scenario wall," said Chesapeake Bay Foundation policy advisor Jay Ford. "A catastrophe wall."
Ford said, though they’re supportive of the wall, he wishes the plan would’ve opted for a solely nature-based approach, that he says could’ve helped with both.
"Rather than exclusively focusing on how to stop just these major storms, we also need to talk about the fact that there is water on the streets every day," he said.
While Ford agrees major storms pose a serious threat to the city, he argues it's shortsighted to spend billions on a project that doesn't address existing flooding.
"There’s broad recognition that we should be looking to maximize co-benefits, that we should not be putting projects in place that we’re going to end off paying for adverse consequences elsewhere," he said.
Sudderth calls the floodwall a step in the right direction, especially for her neighbors in Berkley.
"We all recognize that the Southside is worth protecting," she said. "What our decision makers are understanding is that the folks that are going to be deeply impacted, adversely impacted by climate change are going to be black, brown, poor and isolated."
A spokesperson for the city says this project was never intended to deal with the day-to-day flooding the city experiences. Over the years, the city has applied for and received resilience grants, installed storm water ponds, and pump stations. They've also added solutions like rain gardens, wetland mitigation and stormwater system upgrades to a 10-year storm capacity.
Before a heavy rainfall, the city also has yellow Vactor trucks and ditch crews clear debris across the Mermaid City.
"There is no magic wand to make all of our water issues go away," Sudderth said. "I recognize that the city is doing a lot, and I'm very thankful for their commitment to bringing those resources."
The plan is to finish the design of the floodwall by the end of the year and construction on the barriers will likely start by mid-to-late 2024.
You can view the city's flooding plan and measure they're taking here.