VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Community members in Windsor Woods are no strangers to flooding. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew damaged William Jenning's home.
“I was putting towels near the front door to keep the water out and turned around and behind me, the water was coming through the walls,” he said.
On Wednesday night from 6 to 7:30 p.m., city leaders will meet with community members at Bow Creek Recreation Center to discuss a new drainage project off Rosemont Road. It will help those living in Windsor Woods, Princess Anne Plaza, and The Lakes.
“It will grab some of the water from Rosemont Road and help it drain better. Right now, Rosemont sits low and water drains slow, and it can’t get into the system,” explained Stormwater Project Manager Mike Mundy.
Mundy said the Rosemont Road project is a small piece of a puzzle to an overall project to help mitigate flooding.
“It will include a network of pipe systems. It will include more storage being built, and barriers being built, and pump stations,” Mundy said.
Public Works officials said the whole project could take more 10 years to complete. The first pump station will likely be at Lake Windsor which could take up to three years to design and four years to complete.
Community members said it seems like a long time, but they are happy the city is trying to find a solution.
“They are sincerely trying and looking at different alternatives that have been tried in other areas, and what works and what doesn’t work,” explained Jennings.
Mundy told 13News Now the estimated cost of the project is between $300-350 million. He said city council so far approved $129 million.
“We have to put together a plan and then we have to take it to the city manager and get their blessing make sure everyone’s on board with it. We then take it to council make sure they are on board then we can roll it out," he said.