Which Marine Industries Benefit from the case:Coastal Infrastructure

Case Benefits:Data were essential in developing the resilience strategy and identifying projects – these projects are actively being implemented, have become aspects of the City’s Capital Improvement Program, and helped justify a $500M bond referendum to fund flood resilience in the City. Long-term implementation will ensure quality of life for Virginia Beach residents and protect their economy.

Description:Virginia Beach’s strategic coastal resilience plan incorporated data from multiple NOAA products, some examples include NOAA VDatum to establish tidal elevations for inundation mapping, NOAA CO-OPS water level data to validate models and understand design constraints for resilience projects, NOAA Tidal Marsh Model data to understand environmental degradation, NOAA NWS weather station information to understand historic rainfall, wind patterns and durations, NOAA Atlas 14 precipitation data as an input to hydrologic analysis, and NOAA NOS Hydrographic Survey Data, as well as National Land Cover Database information to support numerical modeling. The data were essential inputs into technical studies that mapped flood hazards, quantified flood risk, and developed an integrated strategy set to provide short- and long-term improvements to flood risk management.