By Jugal Patel, Student Correspondent
This is Part 1 in the Adapting to Rising Seas series.
When Skip Stiles set out to prepare a 175-home, century-old Norfolk neighborhood for sea level rise, he wanted to learn from others’ experience. But after searching for similar projects elsewhere in the country, he came back empty-handed.
Stiles, executive director of Wetlands Watch, a statewide nonprofit environmental group based in Norfolk, VA, wanted to answer the question: How do you proactively plan to adapt an existing neighborhood and it’s infrastructure for sea level rise?
“We quickly discovered that there is nothing ‘off the shelf’ that works,” he says. “No one had done this kind of work before—anywhere.”
With funds from Virginia Sea Grant (VASG), Stiles set out to pull together a team of students and professionals to develop a plan for adapting Chesterfield Heights in Norfolk, VA. The project team wanted to go beyond addressing flooding alone. They intended to create a “community of practice”—a group of regional engineers, architects, academics, and nonprofits that could work collaboratively to create adaptive sea level rise design solutions.
“This is the first street level adaptation project happening before a storm hits in the United States,” Stiles says.
For the project, he chose Chesterfield Heights, which sits along the slowly expanding Elizabeth River. The neighborhood is also located on the filled-in Ohio Creek, which is still affected by tides.
With homes built within the tidal range, frequent flooding has become an increasing issue in Chesterfield Heights—especially as the neighborhood’s development has coincided with a rise in sea level.
In planning the project, “we specifically focused in on old tidal watersheds or estuaries that had been filled in, because those in the developed ends of Hampton Roads are the most vexing problems,” explains Stiles.
The historic status of Chesterfield Heights was another reason the site was an apt choice for the project. The neighborhood was created in the early 20th century, with most of its development occurring between the 1920s and the 1950s. In 2003, Chesterfield Heights was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Much of the neighborhood’s infrastructure has aged over time, and it is already impacted by rising water. The nearest tide gauge, at Sewell’s Point, has measured a 14-inch rise in sea level since the 1930s. Storm water outfalls that should drain water during flood events are submerged even at low tide. Drainage pipes installed in the 1920s and 1930s are undersized and not in good condition to handle large amounts of water from high tides, rainfall events, and storm surges.
The coastline, which was once a beach for recreation, is now heavily eroded, with little room to accommodate residents. The water’s edge now lies close to the neighborhood, allowing scarce room for water to advance until it meets the waterfront homes.
Access to and from the neighborhood is another issue. Only two roads lead into Chesterfield Heights—both of which regularly flood. The main road, Kimball Terrace, is wavy and frequently its roadside drainage ditches hold standing water. During winter, it turns to ice, causing dangerous driving conditions. Culverts near the road, intended to allow water to drain beneath bridges, are undersized and clogged with sediment.
Despite the challenges facing this historic neighborhood, Chesterfield Heights is also small enough for the project, with an active civic league that could help engage the community. All of these factors made the neighborhood a good candidate for adaptation.
In the end, Chesterfield Heights received a long-term plan to adapt to increasing water levels over time. The project received an environmental award from the City of Norfolk, and the project team is currently seeking funding to implement the designs.
Getting to this point wasn’t a simple process, however, as much of the project required improvisation and creative problem-solving.
To get started, Stiles turned to Hampton University’s Department of Architecture and Old Dominion University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to conduct the research and initial designs. Students at those universities led much of the initial research and designs for the project.
Building a professional support team for the students through the project proved challenging, as there weren’t any experts or companies doing this type of work.
“Recruiting folks for the team involved personal contacts, referrals, and some interviews with people I know to see if they’d be willing to participate,” says Stiles.
Wetlands Watch ultimately assembled consultants from the Hampton Roads Green Building Council and about 35 environmental engineers and architects. The project has also benefited from involvement by (among others) the City of Norfolk, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Center for Coastal Resource Management, Virginia Coastal Policy Center at William & Mary, and the American Association of Architects.
This story is part of an in-depth, six-part series, “Adapting to Rising Seas,” on the award-winning Chesterfield Heights resiliency design project. Stories are published every Friday and explore different aspects of the project.
