Flooding to be addressed through Suburban Acres / Suburban Park by work on Parkdale Channel

The City of Norfolk’s Storm Water Division is conducting an engineering study to evaluate solutions to the some of the long-term flooding problems along the creek that runs from Thole Street (by Suburban Park Elementary School) up to Virginian Drive.  This creek, called the “Parkdale Stream” or Parkdale Channel” is part of the Lafayette River’s headwaters.

Problems identified so far in the study include:

– Continuous ponding at Suburban Parkway

– Litter deposits during storms

– Excavated banks are overly steep; collapsing in a few areas

– Stream is over-excavated

– Accumulation of coarse sand

– Ecological discontinuity (non-natural stream walls/bulkheads)

– Lack of vegetative buffer

– Invasive exotic plants Phragmites australis

– Culverts have settled and are now higher on the upstream end than downstream end

Here’s a a close-up image of the Virginian Drive to Suburban Parkway portion of the stream (the stream passes under the streets through culverts.

Here’s an image of the Virginian Drive to Suburban Parkway portion of the stream showing problem areas.

Here’s a PDF file showing the stream’s location as it crosses the neighborhood.

Tentative Restoration Plan:

Thole Street

– Remove accumulated materials from culvert

Downstream of Suburban Parkway

– Remove accumulated sand and debris dams

– Restore natural vegetation

– Grade marsh to support natural vegetation and tidal flushing

Upstream of Suburban Parkway

– Reconfigure channels to a more natural state

– Maintain a floodplain to accommodate flood water

– Try to determine and control the source of sand

– Try to determine and control the source of trash

– Re‐establish natural vegetation and stream banks

At this point the Storm Water Division is continuing with engineering and environmental surveys, fine tuning the concept plan and beginning the permitting process.

According to the initial project schedule, culvert maintenance and dredging work where the stream passes beneath Thole Street could begin as early as September this year.

Contractor selection for the Parkdale Channel portion of the project is anticipated in September 2014.

The City and their consultants gave a presentation to the property owners along Parkdale Drive in December 2012.  Here is a link to the complete presentation, which is a large PDF file.  http://www.norfolk.gov/publicworks/SW/pdf/Parkdale.pdf

The City will present their findings and plans to the civic league later this year.