Virginia’s Flood Program Needs Money and Updates to Protect Communities

In 2016, the Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund, a revolving loan program to help residents protect their homes and businesses from flooding. But it has yet to receive any funding, despite the commonwealth experiencing more than 10 major floods over the past decade that cost tens of millions of dollars in recovery efforts alone. This year, lawmakers from both parties have introduced measures that would strengthen the fund in the following ways:

• Allocate seed money to the fund in amounts up to $10 million (e.g., budget amendments 373 #5h, 373 #7s, 373 #9h, and 373 #10s).
• Revamp the program by:
  • Renaming the fund the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund to clarify that all Virginia communities, inland and coastal, that are subject to repetitive flooding are eligible to participate in the program.
  • Prioritizing funding for community-scale projects and the use of nature-based solutions, such as wetland restoration and open green space, to reduce flood risk (S.B. 320 and H.B. 751).

Voters statewide have signaled strong support for allocating money to the fund to help communities reduce their flood risk. A December 2019 survey by The Pew Charitable Trusts of Virginia registered voters shows that:   

• 84 percent—across party lines—favor a state-run fund to help reduce flood risk in their communities.
• 61 percent of voters from Roanoke to Norfolk support putting at least $50 million in the fund.
• 70 percent agreed that it is important for the state to be more prepared for storms and floods.

The General Assembly can help by voting in favor of these measures so Virginians can take actions to keep their families and businesses out of harm’s way and reduce disaster recovery costs.