Our city has a long relationship with water. Long before the city ever crossed the minds of men, the water was here. Long after the city has gone to the winds of time, the water will be here. Our culture, our economy, and our way of life are deeply rooted in the water around us. The water gives to us, and it takes away. Floods come and go as they please. We try to fight them. We sandbag doors, we build elaborate drainage, we construct floodwalls. But the water still comes. After you’ve been here a while you start to adapt. You don’t fight the floods, you don’t get angry at them. You expect them just as you expect the rain and the sun. Together we rise, we fall, we flood, we dry. That’s just how it is here.
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We’ve had flooding since day 1. It’s not going away anytime soon. But you can help.
Here’s how:
Know when and where to avoid frequently flooded streets
Use the resources linked below to educate yourself about when and where it floods. Avoiding damage to cars and bikes helps you avoid a hassle and could help keep insurance payments across the community lower. Flooding risk is priced into insurance by looking at stats across the community. If 6 in 1000 cars get flooded every year and we drop that to 3 in 1000, that improves underlying statistics behind our insurance premiums.
- STORM Map: (Note on the linked GIS map. This is an interactive map with lots of available layers. You’ll need to turn on the layer for “Flooded Street” under “All Events” to see historically flooded streets.)
- Flooded Streets Map
Help with storm drain cleaning /maintenance
Our storm drains need major infrastructure improvements. Funding and building those take years (more on this in a bit). Right now, you can improve the effectiveness of our systems by helping to keep trash and debris out of them. The more trash and yard debris in the system, the more likely they are to clog and backup. We can collectively prevent that by proactively picking up more litter and stopping lawn clippings and yard debris from ending up in them.
You can even adopt a storm drain and name it Drainy McDrainface or something even better! (Shout out to Code for Hampton Roads for this resource).
Divert stormwater with permeable pavement
The more paved surfaces in town, the more that water runs off into neighborhood low spots. If you’re a homeowner or business, you can replace solid surfaces with ones that allow water to pass through into the ground. The plant roots and soil around you can hold thousands of gallons per yard. Anytime you expand or create new outdoor areas prioritize permeable materials. You can also ask your city government, local business owners, and real estate developers to choose permeable surfaces first and replace the oldest pavement in town.
Pervious Pavers (City of Norfolk)
Protect Wetlands
Wetlands are known to act as barriers to storm surge and absorb lots of runoff. Are you contributing to wetlands decline? Can you contribute to their restoration and expansion? It’s hard to know without learning up on wetlands first.
Advocacy:
You can directly contact policymakers from local government, state government, and federal government to fund the large and long term solutions. They’re key to pushing forward community priorities on flooding.
Don’t just think of elected officials though. Government employees. Government contractors, real estate developers, and small businesses make decisions about pavements, wetlands, litter, yard maintenance, and more.
Elected Officials:
State Elected Offices:
Governor
Ralph S Northam (D)
P.O. Box 1475
Richmond, VA 23218
Phone: 804-786-2211
Lieutenant Governor
Justin E Fairfax (D)
102 Governor Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804-786-2078
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1195
Richmond, VA 23218
Attorney General
Mark R. Herring (D)
Office of the Attorney General
900 E Main Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804-786-2071
State Legislators:
5th District
Lionell Spruill, Sr. (D)
P.O. Box 5403
Chesapeake, VA 23324
Phone:757-424-2178
6th District
Lynwood W Lewis, Jr. (D)
P.O. Box 760
Accomac, VA 23301
Phone: 757-787-1094
7th District
Jen A. Kiggans (R)
P.O. Box 5453
Virginia Beach, VA 23471
Phone: 757-990-3080
House of Delegates
79th District
Steve E. Heretick (D)
715 Loudoun Avenue
Portsmouth, VA 23707
Phone: 757-397-9923
83rd District
Nancy D. Guy (D)
P.O. Box 4563
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Phone: 804-689-1083
89th District
Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones (D)
P.O. Box 2892
Norfolk, VA 23501
Phone: 757-625-8989
90th District
Angelia Williams Graves (D)
5121 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard Suite A-1
Norfolk, VA 23502
Phone: 757-524-4941
100th District
Robert S. “Rob” Bloxom, Jr. (R)
P.O. Box 27
Mappsville, VA 23407
Phone: 757-824-3456
City Council
Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander, Ph.D.
Phone: 757-664-4268
Vice Mayor Martin A. Thomas Jr., Ward 1
Phone: 757-664-4268
Courtney R. Doyle, Ward 2
Phone: 757-664-4268
Mamie B. Johnson, Ward 3
Phone: 757-664-4268
Paul R. Riddick, Ward 4
Phone: 757-664-4268
Thomas R. Smigiel Jr., Ward 5
Phone: 757-664-4293
Andria P. McClellan, Superward 6
Phone: 757-664-4268
Danica Royster, Superward 7
Phone: 757-664-4268
Paul Stetson Rice
Chelsea, NFK
Paul is the creator of NFKVA.com. He was born and raised in Norfolk, graduated from Virginia Tech, and narrowly avoided law school. Chat with him about economics, entrepreneurship, hip-hop, and hiking. When he's not working on five different projects, you'll catch him sharing a beer with friends at a local brewery. Go Hokies!
