Manatee County CVA

CHNEP is providing funding toward the Manatee County Comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) to enhance community resiliency in Manatee County.

The CVA report will identify key local governmental facilities and infrastructure and assesses how vulnerable those County “assets” are to flooding (i.e. sea level rise, increased severe storms including high winds and extreme rainfall) and other climate stressors such as extreme heat. This information is then used to identify specific vulnerable areas (called Adaptation Action Areas, AAAs) in the County. Then plans are drawn up with projects and actions needed in those AAAs to reduce those risks and adapt those assets to be better able to withstand stressors, such as potentially raising roads or bridges in certain locations.

Developing the Vulnerability Assessment

An inventory will be taken of critical County and community assets including things like health care facilities, government buildings and libraries/community centers, schools, water/wastewater facilities, public safety facilities (police, fire, etc.), energy facilities, parks and natural areas, as well as roads and evacuation routes. The most up to date information on current and future rainfall/tidal flooding and storm surge will be used to project potential impacts to those critical assets from future flooding, storms, and other events. The projected level of impact to these critical community assets will help the County prioritize critical action areas and plan projects to protect them. The vulnerability assessment report will include maps of critical assets, providing the necessary foundation for the County and its partners to identify funding needs and to implement projects that reduce risks to critical county infrastructure and facilities.

Adaptation Action Area (AAA) Plans

Afterward, Adaptation Action Area (AAA) Plans will be developed for areas deemed most vulnerable to potential impacts. AAAs can be identified and prioritized based on identified critical assets, exposure and sensitivity analysis, flood modeling, results of public meetings, input from the County, and guidelines from the Florida AAAs Planning Guidebook. Specific adaptation strategies and projects can be proposed for the top priority AAAs to address the climate threats identified in the County’s Vulnerability Assessment. The proposed priority strategies and projects will consider 1) Recommended Infrastructure Improvements (physical grey and green infrastructure with a focus on nature-based solutions), (2) Recommended Building Codes and Standards, (3) Resiliency Hub Needs (shelter in place, food, water, energy, communications, etc.), and (4) Funding and Financing needs (i.e. estimated costs for implementation of each recommended strategy, project) in order to enhance resiliency.

Partners

Documents