Solution

Resist-Delay-Store-Discharge: A Comprehensive Urban Water Strategy

This solution addresses flood-susceptible urban environments in New Jersey waterfront communities for local residents and business owners, commuters, and regional stakeholders

Problem Description

Within the Sandy-affected region, New Jersey's communities of Jersey City, Hoboken, and Weehawken are susceptible to both flash flood and storm surge. As integrated urban environments, discreet one-house-at-a-time solutions do not make sense. What is required is a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the density and complexity of the context, galvanizes a diverse community of beneficiaries, and defends the entire city, its assets and citizens. The objectives of this manifold strategy are to manage water for both disaster and long-term growth; to mitigate the financial pressures of flood insurance through the redrawing of the FEMA flood maps; and the delivery of co-benefits that enhance the quality of the built environment.

Building Blocks

Story

Our comprehensive urban water strategy deploys programmed hard infrastructure and soft landscape for coastal defense (resist); policy recommendations, guidelines, and urban infrastructure to slow rainwater runoff (delay); a circuit of interconnected green infrastructure to store and direct excess rainwater (store); and water pumps and alternative routes to support drainage (discharge).

Since the Rebuild by Design competition’s completion, our comprehensive urban water strategy was awarded $230 million in CDBG-DR funding. With the project currently undergoing implementation in the city of Hoboken, the city has been named a Role Model City for Resiliency by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, one of only 45 cities worldwide to receive this distinction.

Photos

Resources

Organisations Involved

Contributed By

Daniel Pittman, OMA
Marten Hillen, Royal HaskoningDHV
Mark Thomann, Balmori Associates (WHY)
Elissa Hoagland, HR&A Advisors

Solution Stage

One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn more

STAGE	SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED	EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES	RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING	FINANCE REQUIRED	KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED	GOAL
Making the case4	Business development and evaluation	Market sizing, development and testing Business case analysis Identifying cashable savings	Prepare to adapt approach, based on evaluation results and user feedback MEDIUM	Grant funding or funding out of investment MEDIUM	A stronger case with cost and benefit projections developed through practical trials and experiments, involving potential users	Clarity about what warrants implementation and funding

Submitted By

Daniel Pittman