The Mobile Area Storm Water Mapping & Resiliency Planning project will allow the City to locate, describe, and map storm water infrastructure throughout the City of Mobile. Additionally, the project will enable the development and implementation of effective strategies to mitigate repetitive flood loss.
Why is this project needed?
There is a great deal that is unknown about the City’s existing storm water network. Parts of the system are over 100 years old. It is not uncommon to discover wooden culverts and structures, still functioning, under the streets of downtown. Infrastructure within the older sections of the City was typically constructed prior to the use of modern standards and materials, leading to perpetual repairs. As a coastal community, the City of Mobile experiences periodic coastal and riverine flooding, including storm surges from hurricanes and flash floods.
What will this project address?
This project will develop the tools and information necessary to successfully plan and cost-effectively manage communities and economies in the Mobile region, providing resilience in the face of flooding, extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions. Ultimately, this project represent steps for enhancing resiliency. The comprehensive scope of the project will provide data and tools for reducing flood risks within communities throughout the City of Mobile.
Project progress
The Mobile Area Storm Water Mapping & Resiliency Planning project is composed of 3 tasks that will happen at the same time.
Task 1: Complete a GPS digital inventory, GIS database, and map of storm water infrastructure features that flow through the City of Mobile into Mobile Bay. As of 12/1/2021 this task is approximately 30% complete.
Task 2: Identify properties within the City of Mobile subject to repetitive flood loss and develop a strategy to address and effectively remedy prospective losses. All repetitive flood loss properties were identified as of 9/1/2021. Data collection was completed as of 11/16/2021.
Task 3: Obtain information and data to assist with updating the City of Mobile’s outdated Flood Plain Management Plan that was last revised in 1984.
TIMELINE
Who is involved?
This project is being lead by the City of Mobile with the support of a variety of contractors. The team includes planners, engineers, and construction experts.
Project Lead: City of Mobile
Project Manager: Lance Slater and Emma Cochran
Partners: The City of Prichard and The City of Chickasaw
Funding: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, RESTORE Council
Consultants: GRW Engineering and Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions
Documents
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This project was paid for [in part] with federal funding from the Department of the Treasury under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Treasury.
