Ohio Creek Watershed Project Creates Coastal Community Of The Future In Norfolk

From the City of Norfolk:

February 29, 2020

Two Norfolk communities will transform with replicable and community-oriented approaches to resiliency when the Ohio Creek Watershed Project is complete in April 2023. The $122.2 million project will create an integrated flood control system featuring green spaces to hold and absorb water while filtering it to remove pollutants and creating natural walking trails that reconnect the neighborhoods.

Norfolk received $112.7 million grant for the project in January 2016 through a competitive, national process.

“The City of Norfolk was honored to receive $112.7 million in federal funding from the National Disaster Resilience Competition for our efforts to create resilient neighborhoods. Through strategic and collaborative partnerships between the City of Norfolk, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Ohio Creek Watershed Project strengthens our coastal resilience, creates innovative stormwater management solutions and unites communities. This transformational project sets in motion our plans to protect our historic and diverse neighborhoods,” said Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander.

The grant requires that the project is substantially complete by September 2022. The city will use $9.5 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and funds from the “resilience penny” to pay for the remainder of the project.

The Ohio Creek Watershed Project will be built to protect Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village from a catastrophic weather event; a simultaneous 100-year coastal storm, 10-year rainfall on top off two and a half feet of sea level rise.

Highlights of the project include: a raised road, a flood wall, an earthen berm, tidal gate. The project will also improve the community’s access to the water with a new fishing pier. The model for resilience open space is the new Resilience Park. The new park will connect both communities with a flood berm, restored tidal creek, wetland as well as a multi-use sports field and places for community gatherings, sports and play.

This press release was produced by the City of Norfolk. The views expressed here are the author’s own.