NORFOLK, Va. — Flooding has threatened some of Norfolk’s most historic neighborhoods.
Now, there’s a plan to save them. The City of Norfolk has finalized design plans on the Ohio Creek Project. The $112 million project will reduce flooding in the Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village neighborhoods.
Karen Speights has lived in Chesterfield Heights her entire life. Her home, in a low-lying area, is one of the most vulnerable to flooding.
“It's pretty traumatic,” said Speights.
Speights said she’ll never forget the day her entire home flooded on the inside back in 2009. She and her mother, whom she cares for, were in the home.
“You can see that water moving back and forth under the house and then when the water started to come in, it rushed in like at the beach” said Speights.
“It went in and out and the little floor rugs were floating. Then the electrical current reached the sockets, started to hit me on my feet, and that’s when we went upstairs.”
She's not alone. Just across the street, her neighbor Selethia Anderson’s home has also been victim to severe flooding.
“Sometimes the house looks like a riverboat,” said Anderson.
Storm surge and high tide have taken a toll on her childhood home. When the yard is flooded, she can’t leave the house.
“When I stand out here, it's like hip-high,” said Anderson.
The yard has eroded into the Elizabeth River through the years.
“It's just washing away on the side and in the back,” said Anderson.
But the Ohio Creek Project could mean change is on the horizon for residents. The federal government funded the project, which will feature resilience park, new storm water ponds, storm drain improvements, a pump station, and a berm and wall feature to protect the neighborhoods.
Not only will it mitigate flooding, it’s also aimed toward building a stronger community. The park will feature multi-use sports fields and spaces for people to gather.
Construction will begin this Spring.
“We just want the water to stop and if they can do that, it would be great for the neighborhood and then it's gonna benefit other neighborhoods across the country if they do something that works,” said Speights.
The lifelong resident said she’s looking forward to seeing the place they grew up in transform into something unique.
"I want to stay and be a part of the whole solution, you know?"