Presentation will highlight the steps taken to formally adopt a Program for Public Information in the city of Orange Beach, Alabama. The Program for Public Information, also known as a PPI, is a public policy approach developed by FEMA to better coordinate flood risk and communication at the local level. Participants in the session will learn how sea grant staff worked with the city of Orange Beach to develop a systematic approach targeting local stakeholders and developing messages tailored to specific local audiences and their communication needs. Information will also be shared about how sea grant products, such as the enhanced Coastal Resilience Index, were used to facilitate information gathering on the city's existing flood outreach and other CRS activities. In addition to outlining the PPI process, the presentation will also explore how flood outreach activities were integrated into a broader discussion on city resilience needs.

The Gulf of Mexico is an area of rich culture and beautiful coastlines; however, coastal living comes with ever-increasing risk. Communities are already experiencing increased flooding and exacerbated storm surge due in part to sea-level rise (SLR). Many Gulf communities are already taking steps to become more resilient to current and future hazards, helping them bounce back after storms or to be ready for future conditions. Through a series of short films, the Resilience to Future Flooding video project seeks to show northern Gulf coastal audiences (i.e., local and county government, coastal trainers, nonprofits, and regional planners within Mississippi, Alabama, and northwest Florida) what sea-level rise is, its potential impacts, and what Gulf Coast communities are already doing about it. The films generated in this project are intentionally short, around 5 minutes, and were developed with extensive input from an Advisory Committee comprised of target audience sectors. Three ‘101’ films cover basic information about SLR in the northern Gulf, how SLR will change storm surge, and information on how SLR can be integrated into planning. There is also a series of case studies that showcase five Gulf communities that have taken on various adaptation and preparedness strategies, oftentimes without a primary or direct goal of enhancing their resilience to SLR. Each video includes content to make it more relevant to one of the northern Gulf states (Mississippi, Alabama, or northwest Florida). Through the combined use of local references and hearing directly from the communities, these case studies effectively encourage other communities to implement their own resilience projects. During the presentation, the project will be summarized, a description of how best to utilize these tools will be shared, and a video will be shown.

On-the-ground resilience to current and future flooding takes many different forms and can look like direct or indirect actions, specific or broad plans, and immediate or long-term planned activities. A recently completed series of short films demonstrates this diversity through five unique case studies of Gulf Coast communities increasing their flood resilience in various ways. The same project that developed these short films also provided funding for additional communities to take action in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This presentation will showcase two of these ongoing projects. The first example, from Magnolia River in Alabama, seeks to address flooding concerns now and in the future while simultaneously reducing sedimentation and pollution via constructed wetlands on the river uplands. This project provides a necessary feasibility study to assess if this could work and, if so, how the wetland should be constructed to maximize effectiveness. The second example is from Biloxi, Mississippi, where they developed a building elevation database and constructed a comprehensive storm surge history for the city. These data provide a more accurate and detailed analysis of flood risk under current and future flood scenarios (e.g., storm surge with sea-level rise). Both of these examples highlight unique ways that future flood resilience can be tailored to address the specific needs faced by different communities. In this presentation, a short introduction to the overall Resilience to Future Flooding project will be provided with more detailed presentations from the respective leads of the Alabama and Mississippi projects.

Coastal cities suffer from flooding in part due to increased impervious surfaces from construction and development projects. One way to curb flooding is to install green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). But a few barriers prevent the installation of GSI: technical uncertainty, city ordinances, and the costs of constructing and maintaining those systems. Our team of engineers and attorneys is assessing GSI implementation, including evaluating the effectiveness of GSI techniques to prevent flooding, conducting life-cycle cost assessments, and analyzing whether city ordinances pose a legal or economic barrier to implementing GSI in communities in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. We have selected two properties to analyze: one in Orange Beach, AL and one in Biloxi, MS. The main goal of this project is to help communities become more resilient to flooding. During the 2-year project funded by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, the project team will work on the following objectives: (1) estimate changes in potential floodwater volumes based on different stormwater control structures imposed by city ordinances; (2) estimate construction and long-term operation and maintenance costs for stormwater infrastructure, including GSI, based on current and potential future versions of city ordinances; (3) determine at what point the city ordinances or regulatory requirements for GSI increase life-cycle costs to the point that it is not practical to build; and (4) propose modified ordinances to include flexible GSI options for communities to improve their resilience to climate change and their FEMA Community Rating System flood impact reduction scores. The presentation will discuss the scope of the project and what has been learned at this point, emphasizing information useful to Northern Gulf cities regarding mapping and what data are being used. The presentation will also discuss what information is sought from Orange Beach and Biloxi zoning and stormwater ordinances.

For coastal communities, climate change is making flood and stormwater management increasingly complex, as heavy rainfall runoff, inland flooding, storm surge, and sea level rise is proving to be a game changer. NOAA’s Water Initiative is working to meet these challenges by transforming how NOAA develops and delivers water information services to society. A self-guided resource, “Adapting Stormwater Management for Coastal Floods,” represents a big step in this direction (https://coast.noaa.gov/stormwater-floods/). Divided into four sections, the web-based resource helps the user do the following: understand the issue; assess current and future flood impacts on community stormwater management systems; analyze the current system; and determine the actions needed to mitigate impacts to the existing system. There are also links to additional resources, data, models, tools, and case studies. The target audience for this resource is focused on stormwater managers, floodplain managers, and community planners who are interested in a collaborative approach for implementing forward thinking stormwater management goals. This product was originally released in 2018 and can be found on the Digital Coast website. NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management recently upgraded the original product based on feedback gathered at two community engagement workshops. This presentation will showcase the product and highlight the NOAA Water Initiative’s recently developed framework for Service Delivery that strives to provide user-driven science and services.