{"id":37071,"date":"2024-02-06t16:21:09","date_gmt":"2024-02-06t16:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=37071"},"modified":"2024-02-06t16:21:10","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06t16:21:10","slug":"washington-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/washington-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"across the wards | development along washington, d.c.’s waterfront raises flooding concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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if you wanted to walk along the waterfront on the southeast side of washington, d.c. \u2014 past michelin-star restaurants, gleaming high-rise apartment buildings, and ornate government headquarters \u2014 your best bet would be the anacostia riverwalk trail. it runs the majority of the distance, hugging the washington channel of the anacostia river.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

it\u2019s a dazzling path to take, but it\u2019s also one that\u2019s under imminent threat. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

between 2010 and 2020, the area of d.c. designated as ward 6, has seen a 42 percent <\/span>increase<\/span><\/a> in residents\u2014about 32,000 in total\u2014according to census data, which is more than a third of dc\u2019s overall growth in that period. even today, after drastic redistricting, it still contains one-sixth of dc\u2019s population. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

with such a massive influx of people, there was bound to be development. ward 6\u2019s beloved waterfront has borne the brunt of it. noma went from a couple rows of sparsely populated office buildings to <\/span>having its own voting precinct.<\/span><\/a> more than two million people now <\/span>enter<\/span><\/a> navy yard annually for washington nationals games. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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increased development in washington d.c.’s ward 6 is springing up new buildings. (erika filter)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

though this expansion improves everyday life for residents in the area, it\u2019s not without its major drawbacks. ward 6\u2019s waterfront is already vulnerable to flooding from the anacostia, but if the construction is to continue, it will only be <\/span>making the problem worse.<\/span><\/a> already, residents have begun to notice issues. molly mcmanamon, who has lived in the area for five years, said she\u2019s noted drainage issues in yards park.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201ceverything being on the waterfront here, there\u2019s always going to be a risk of flooding,\u201d mcmanamon said. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

as climate change continues to worsen, the warmer air holds onto more moisture. this can produce <\/span>longer and more intense rains<\/span><\/a>, enough to kickstart flooding. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201con just one or two days, the rain has just been really, really heavy, as opposed to being more spread out and more sprinkles,\u201d mcmanamon added.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

she said over the past few years, she has noticed rain intensifying in august and september, which makes the anacostia river swell. she\u2019s not alone in this observation. in 2015, the southwest neighborhood plan identified a 100-year floodplain that was more troublesome than previously expected\u2014partially because of this sudden push for development.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201ci pulled up the floodplain map and i noticed that there was this crazy floodplain that bisects the entire community,\u201d said andrea limauro, an environmental protection specialist at the d.c. department of energy and the environment. \u201csmack in the middle of it, we had these three giant public housing communities. and that really concerned me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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a view of the anacostia river. (erika filter)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

limauro has been following this issue for eight years now since the southwest neighborhood plan first released those floodplain maps. only in the last year or so has he been able to make any real progress, establishing the <\/span>southwest-buzzard point flood resilience strategy<\/span><\/a>. it\u2019s the first in what limauro is hoping will be a long line of projects aimed at preparing neighborhoods for increased flooding concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

not only is this a monumental push forward, but the location also holds significance. much of southwest d.c.\u2019s development began in the 1950s, long before ward 6\u2019s recent population boom. under the redevelopment land agency and the national capital planning commission, government planners <\/span>demolished<\/span><\/a> many homes and black-owned businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cit was the first and biggest urban renewal plan in the country. that\u2019s why southwest looks so different, you know, so modernized towers in the park.\u201d limauro said. \u201csouthwest doesn\u2019t have a lot of spaces that are whimsical and natural. it\u2019s very built out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

this lack of natural space is something southwest can\u2019t afford. along with the mental health and sustainability elements associated with greenspaces, exposed earth performs an oft-forgotten function: <\/span>drainage.<\/span><\/a> vegetation allows for water to properly infiltrate the soil, and if placed strategically, it can even help divert water to prevent pooling in crucial areas. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the <\/span>southwest-buzzard point resilience project<\/span><\/a>, an initiative of the district department of energy and environment (doee)<\/span>, will make use of vegetation, along with new pipes and floodable structures, in order to redirect and slow stormwater. if successful, it will prevent homes and businesses from being the first to flood, improving current-day modeling.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

but it\u2019s not just large-scale projects that are tackling the greenspace problems in ward 6. in fact, they can even serve dual purposes. coy mckinney, an urban agriculture teacher at friendship public charter school, said he uses the campus\u2019 20 garden plots and greenhouse to teach students how to care for plants and cook using ingredients they have grown. he said around christmas 2013, he sent a mass email to local charter school principals expressing his interest in urban gardening. when friendship public charter upgraded its building, constructing the greenhouse, they invited mckinney even though he had no teaching experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cthey threw me in the classroom,\u201d mckinney said. \u201cand then ever since then, i\u2019ve just been trying to build this program out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

mckinney also works with <\/span>southwest dc action network<\/span><\/a>, an advocacy group fighting for anti-racist development and a sustainable neighborhood. this was one group among many that limauro encountered while working with the community on his project. though residents of southwest were often skeptical of government intervention due to the area\u2019s history, mckinney\u2019s work shows how their goals can be synthesized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

those in southwest are concerned about the flooding, but many can\u2019t find time to worry about it among their other issues. mckinney cites problems like being \u201chousing [or] food insecure\u201d as the more everyday worries that prevent people from bringing their full selves to the community. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

mckinney\u2019s efforts, however, prove that both can be done simultaneously. collective, community gardens would allow for access to healthy food options and would increase vegetation for better drainage. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

it\u2019s just one piece in a significantly larger puzzle, but it\u2019s the small parts that count. after all, limauro said the future will likely involve more adaptation to increased flooding, with cities adjusting to live with changing waters. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cwe\u2019re probably not pushing the envelope far enough compared to what the future might really look like,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

he said the first part of the flood resilience strategy will reach completion in about four years, the culmination of over 12 years of work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201ci hope that we will never need to use it,\u201d limauro said. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\tsee the full series!<\/a>\n\t<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the anacostia riverwalk hugs the waterfront along washington, d.c’s ward 6. as housing development balloons the area’s population, flooding concerns are increasing as well. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20558,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4911,7080,4914,4904],"tags":[],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-37071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natural-disasters","category-storyfest-2024","category-sustainability","category-water"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nsaving washington, d.c.'s waterfront from imminent flooding<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"as housing development balloons the across washington d.c.'s ward 6, flooding concerns are increasing as well.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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