SCP Recurrent Flooding Sub-Panel Draft Report

City of Norfolk:

“Please find below a link to the FINAL report.  With your assistance, a workable strategy for addressing the threats of recurrent flooding and sea level rise in the Commonwealth – a strategy which is inclusive and comprehensive, leveraging the talents, expertise and resources into one true unity of effort.

The plan was delivered on Friday.

Again, I cannot thank you enough for your interest and commitment in working together to address this issue. Hopefully you too will feel Virginia is equipped and poised to enact meaningful change in not only addressing the threat, but how we operate in a unified manner.

Thank you!!!

Jim

Jim Redick

Sub-Panel Co-Chair”

Click here for the report

Study says U.S. can’t keep up with loss of wetlands

National News:

“Over a four-year span, the United States lost more than 360,000 acres of freshwater and saltwater wetlands to fierce storms, sea-level rise and booming development along the coasts, according to a newly released federal study.

The disappearance of so much grass and forest marsh on the edge of waterways is a disturbing sign that government projects to restore wetlands are failing to keep pace, environmentalists said, as storms intensify, the sea level creeps up and development paves the way for rising coastal populations.

Saltwater wetlands help buffer sea surges that cause flooding during powerful storms along the coasts — such as Hurricane Sandy last year — and freshwater wetlands soak up storm-water runoff that often causes sewers to overflow.

They also serve as nurseries for numerous species of fish and assorted marine life, while providing habitat for three-quarters of the nation’s waterfowl and migrating birds. Nearly half of endangered species depend on them to live.”

~Writes Darryl Fears of The Washington Post

Click here to read Mr. Fears’ article

VIMS model now capable of street-level storm-tide predictions

William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science:

“The water that surged into the intersection of New York City’s Canal and Hudson streets during Hurricane Sandy—to choose just one flood-ravaged locale—was ultimately driven ashore by forces swirling hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic.

That simple fact shows not only the scale and power of a tropical cyclone, but the difficulty of modeling and forecasting its potential for coastal flooding on the fine scale needed to most effectively prepare a response.

Now, a study led by Professor Harry Wang of William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science demonstrates the ability to predict a hurricane’s storm tide at the level of individual neighborhoods and streets—a much finer scale than current operational methods.”

~Writes David Malmquist of VIMS

Click here to learn more

Gov. Terry McAuliffe puts state climate panel back in action

Governor’s Office:

“Virginia’s governor… [3 months ago] told a gathering at the Environment Virginia Symposium something they hadn’t heard from that office in four years: Climate change is real, humans have a hand in it and the commonwealth’s coastal communities are under a great threat.

‘If we want to help the environment tomorrow, we have to make smart, common-sense decisions today. The first big decision is to accept climate change is real,’ Gov. Terry McAuliffe said. ‘I believe humans contribute to climate change. I think it’s pretty much settled. I think the impacts are felt today.’

McAuliffe’s remarks were met with a round of applause by local government officials, policymakers and environmentalists who were gathering… for a three-day environmental symposium at Virginia Military Institute. The governor plans to reactivate a climate change commission to advise him on what can be done to protect Virginia.

The new governor said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pegs the Hampton Roads area as the second-most vulnerable in the nation, right behind New Orleans.”

~Writes Luanne Rife of the Roanoke Times

Click here for the article

Hurricane Season 2014: Is it Time to Batten Down the Hatches?

Coastal Virginia:

“The National Hurricane Center releases its outlook for the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which begins June 1… Last year, experts said to expect a busy hurricane season and it was the least active in 30 years. This year, they're saying not to expect much activity.

The National Hurricane Center echoed experts' predictions for average to below average activity in its Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook released May 22.”

~ Writes Greg Hambrick of the Fredericksburg Patch

Click here to check out the rankings

Turbulence over boat launch

Louisa County:

“County leaders are making waves over a state agency’s plans to build a public boat launch at one of Lake Anna’s deadliest areas—Dike 3. Boaters and anglers have long wanted public boat access in Louisa County, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries hopes to fill that need. And while the idea of having a public boat launch on the Louisa side of the lake is appealing to county leaders, neither they, law enforcement or appointed advisors are at all supportive of this particular project because of its location.

The peril at Dike 3, located on Moody Town Road (Rt. 622), occurs when water from the warm side of the lake rushes into the cold side and creates a strong ‘washing machine-like’ current. Last Memorial Day, a six-year-old Richmond girl fell into the lake at the dike while her grandfather was fishing. Dive teams spent several hours in the water before they recovered her body.

At least two other drownings have occurred in the vicinity of Dike 3. A 24-year-old Richmond man died while duck hunting in December of 1995 after his boat capsized near Dike 3, and a 51-year-old Henrico County man died in February of 1996 when the boat he was in capsized near Dike 3 in the area known as ‘The Quarry.’”

~Writes the Central Virginian

Click here to learn more

National Geographic, Sea Level Rise, and Virginia’s Coasts: Part II: Navigating Economic Impacts and Solutions

Coastal Virginia:

“Tim Folger’s popular National Geographic article focuses on the dangers of sea level rise across the planet, to which Virginia’s coasts will also be vulnerable. In addition to demonstrating that our planet’s coasts will be vulnerable, Folger goes on further to point out the economic risks rising seas pose and possible solutions for mitigating those risks.

Folger thinks sea level rise is no longer a secret or something we can keep denying, but rather he thinks it’s a reality we will all need to face sooner or later.  As discussed in Part I of this Blog article, while Folger did not discuss the risks for Virginia specifically, the Virginia coasts are not immune to rising seas.  In fact, Virginia’s expansive low-lying coast with a consistently increasing population make the risks of sea level rise a very serious threat.  Further, the economic impacts of sea level rise Folger points to are equally true for Virginia’s coasts.

What remains unclear is whether the solutions being looked at by New York City, New Orleans, and the Netherlands are also solutions for Virginia’s coasts.”

~Writes Kelsey Baack of the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic

Click here to learn more