HAMPTON — Streets flood during high tides and heavy rains, and sometimes, water comes back up through the storm drains. Without action, the problem will only get worse in the years to come.
Hampton Roads already has seen more than 18 inches of sea level rise since the 1920s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Projections show the region could see an additional 4.6 feet by 2080. To prepare, Hampton is developing water plans for the city.
Recently, a group of government officials, nonprofit leaders, academic institutions, engineering teams and neighborhood leaders spent three days working on a resiliency plan for downtown, Phoebus and Buckroe Beach.
The New Orleans-based architectural firm working on the plan, Waggonner & Ball, has told the city to embrace the water as an asset, rather than a problem.
The group is looking for community input as it works to identify potential future projects, such as connecting Buckroe to Fort Monroe and expanding the living shoreline in Hampton.
“There’s a true desire for people to get engaged and to give us feedback,” said Carolyn Heaps, the city’s resiliency officer. “We really do want to have the opportunity to explain our ideas, but we also want to hear from the neighborhoods what they value and what they think will add value to their neighborhood.”
Residents have emphasized the importance of maintaining the city’s history and character throughout the projects and encouraged adding trees, increasing vegetation on shorelines and creating mixed-use spaces that make it easier to travel the city by walking.
The city has asked people to provide feedback and ideas on what they’d like to see in their neighborhood through the project website: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2b81e3a0262a46698f54cd405c3c1f62.
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Heaps said resiliency projects aren’t just about mitigating flooding, “they’re spaces for public enjoyment, spaces for public water access, places for community connectivity,” which means that people have to use the resources “in order for them to have value.”
“We’re thinking, not just about the next five years, but looking out with what we know about climate change to 2040 and 2080,” Heaps said. “We’re not just thinking about right now, we’re thinking about solving the problems of tomorrow.”
A plan for the Newmarket Creek watershed has been completed, and the city is preparing to begin construction on a few pilot projects, including the Big Bethel Blueway, which will turn an existing drainage canal into a stormwater storage facility and public green space with a walking and bike path.
While the city hoped to begin construction on the project this spring, Heaps said the design probably will be finished within about a month. After the blueprint is complete, the city will need to find a general contractor, so Heaps said groundbreaking likely won’t occur until late summer.
Heaps said the city is also in the process of bringing back a grant program that gives money to homeowners who take action such as building rain gardens or replacing their driveways with permeable pavers to help mitigate flooding.
The next steps for the downtown, Buckroe and Phoebus plan will include soliciting more feedback from the community and meeting with stakeholders to test the feasibility of project ideas before making recommendations to the City Council.
Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com