JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At a University of North Florida environmental symposium on Friday, Mayor Donna Deegan plans to launch “Resilient Jacksonville,” a 50-year strategy to ensure the River City’s infrastructure is strong enough and adaptable enough to confront flooding and extreme heat.
The city is officially launching Resilient Jacksonville at the 2023 JEPB-UNF Environmental Symposium. Deegan is expected to speak at 9:15 a.m. Friday at UNF’s Herbert University Center.
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The city is working on ways to stop the St. Johns River from flooding different neighborhoods, including those prone to flooding on days of heavy rain or when hurricanes strike.
The Resilient Jacksonville plan is laid out at www.resilientjacksonville.com, including 45 different action plans to address challenges.
The city said data and science have guided the planning process, and a great deal of care was taken to ensure every corner of Jacksonville was studied.
Officials said the resilience actions proposed are tailored to the many geographies, communities, and ecosystems that make up Jacksonville.
READ: Full Resilient Jacksonville plan
A proposed solution for excessive flooding is developing a green stormwater infrastructure program.
The goal would be to reduce water pollution by using things like rain gardens, swales and tree trenches to store stormwater runoff before it can get to sewers, which can cause overflow and flooding.
The concentration would be in flood-prone parts of the city.
The city also plans to relocate city-owned resources outside of a flood plain. Officials say the benefit is cutting the cost of replacing resources that could be damaged or destroyed during a major weather event.
To address excessive heat concerns, the plan suggests investing in the more than 400 parks around Jacksonville and expanding the Jax Ready Alert System for high heat days. The city would also keep cooling facilities open longer, improve those facilities and possibly add more options for people to go to.
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