FloodWise Communities
Overview
The Floodwise Communities (FWC) Tool and Program helps communities complete a comprehensive stormwater vulnerability assessment. The assessment process focuses on identifying factors that may stress a stormwater system and the surrounding community due to impacts from climate change, and guides communities to prioritize actions to adapt to these stressors. The program is free to participate in and is most successful with interdisciplinary teams that have influence over a stormwater system.
WHY FLOODWISE?
Vulnerability assessments are an important tool for assessing climate related risk and prioritizing areas of action. Yet, many communities lack the capacity and funds to complete the traditionally intensive and expensive process. Our interdisciplinary team co-developed the FloodWise Communities (FWC) tool and program to make stormwater vulnerability assessments more accessible to small and mid-sized municipalities.
Learn more about the numerous partners that have been involved in creating and implementing the FWC program including researchers, NGOs, municipal practitioners, private partners, sponsors, and more.
PROGRAM RESOURCES
- FloodWise factsheet – Link
- FloodWise tool website (for participating communities) – Link
- Neighborhoods at Risk – Link
To learn more or get involved contact: projectteam@floodwisecommunities.org
FLOODWISE PROCESS & STEPS
Before completing the stormwater vulnerability assessment, participants receive up-front training on vulnerability assessments, customized local and regional climate and socioeconomic data, and other related topics. Participating communities then work through 4 key steps to complete the stormwater vulnerability assessment process (outlined below). This 4-step process is typically completed through multiple working sessions with a FWC facilitator, either in-person or virtually.
Step 1: Setting the Foundation
Participants begin by taking stock of local weather and climate conditions, community impacts, and capacity in their community. GLISA provides local and regional climate data, and social vulnerability data is available through the Neighborhoods at Risk (NaR) tool. NaR helps users understand the unequal impacts of climate change in their community and identify specific census tracts that may experience greater vulnerability to climate impacts. Participants are also encouraged to leverage other local data, knowledge and lived experiences to inform the assessment.
Step 2: Stormwater Vulnerability Assessment
Next, users assess the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of individual stormwater system components. Sensitivity is the degree to which something can be negatively affected by current and future weather & climate conditions. Adaptive capacity is the ability to adjust to these impacts, maintain core functions, and take advantage of opportunities to improve over time. FWC offers over 90 components to choose from, including both conventional and natural components.
Step 3: Assessment Results
After the assessment is completed, participants can review their assessment results. Responses are captured in the online FWC tool and are compiled into a vulnerability matrix that can help communities understand which components may need more attention and resources in the future. Participants will also receive a final report summarizing all of the information captured during the assessment process.
Step 4: Next Steps
Next, participants can begin discussing next steps for using their vulnerability assessment results to take action in their community. For example, past participants have used the assessment to update stormwater design and fee structures, develop hazard mitigation plans, influence capital improvement planning, secure grants, and communicate risk to community leaders and elected officials, among other applications.
Program history
GLISA and partners have been co-developing the FWC tool and approach since 2017 and have worked with over 60 communities to date. Click through the phases (below) to learn more about the formation and evolution of the FWC program, including the numerous partners and funders that have made FWC the program that it is today.
PHASE I: 2017-2018
| Project Title: | Comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment Template and Scenario Development for Great Lakes Cities |
| Overview of Work: | In the early years of the program, the project team worked with five Great Lakes cities – at their request – to develop a broad vulnerability assessment framework. The team created a template that helped participating communities integrate climate-smart and equity-focused information into all types of city planning. Additionally, the project team created local climate profiles for participating communities and developed a regional pilot of the Neighborhoods at Risk (NaR) tool. Some of the participating cities used their assessment results to create city-wide Climate Action Plans. |
| Funding: | Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) Innovation Fund |
| Partners: | GLISA (University of Michigan) Huron River Watershed Council Great Lakes Climate Adaptation Network Headwaters Economics City of Ann Arbor |
| Participating Communities: | Ann Arbor, MI Dearborn, MI Indianapolis, IN Evanston, IL Cleveland, OH |
| Learn More: | Project web page |
PHASE II: 2018-2019
| Title: | Co-producing Climate Knowledge and Sustained Engagement in the Great Lakes in Support of Stormwater Management Adaptation |
| Overview of Work: | In phase II, the project focused on stormwater management and extreme precipitation, since this is a top concern for Great Lakes cities. The project team implemented a refined stormwater vulnerability assessment with 12 Great Lakes cities. The team also started to explore different engagement approaches (i.e., in-person, remote, or self-guided) to see which methods would be most effective and efficient at reaching more communities while still delivering meaningful outcomes. |
| Funding: | NOAA Sectoral Applications and Research Program (SARP) |
| Partners: | GLISA (University of Michigan) Huron River Watershed Council City of Ann Arbor Great Lakes Climate Adaptation Network |
| Participating Communities: | Ann Arbor, MI Buffalo, NY Cleveland, OH Columbus, OH Dayton, OH Ferndale, MI Goshen, IN Grand Rapids, MI Kalamazoo, MI Madison, WI Toledo, OH Urbana, IL |
| Learn More: | Project web page City Outcomes and Testimonials Report |
PHASE III: 2019-2023
| Title: | Making Gulf Communities More Resilient: Scaling-up Customized Vulnerability Assessment for Extreme Events in Gulf Cities |
| Overview of Work: | In phase III, the project team transferred the vulnerability assessment template into a formal web-based tool and launched a national version of Neighborhoods at Risk. The project team then completed vulnerability assessments using these tools with more than 50 communities across the U.S. Gulf Region. In phase III, the team also continued to test the same forms of engagement as in phase II (i.e., in-person, remote, or self-guided). |
| Funding: | National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program |
| Partners: | GLISA (University of Michigan) Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP, University of Oklahoma) Adaptation International Headwaters Economics Stanford University |
| Participating Communities: | 50+ small- and mid-sized communities in the US Gulf region including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. |
| Learn More: | Project web page |
PHASE IV: 2023-Present
| Title: | Scaling up FloodWise Communities in the Great Lakes Region |
| Overview of Work: | In Phase IV, GLISA and partners bring the now established FWC program to more communities in the Great Lakes region through multiple sub-projects. 1) In 2024, GLISA awarded a small grant to ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) to implement a new community cohort model for FWC in Michigan and Wisconsin. 2) GLISA is also partnering with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to engage Michigan communities in FWC while piloting new content related to public health and community engagement. 3) GLISA is partnering with Adaptation International (through GLISA’s peer in the South Central region, the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program) to explore opportunities to integrate community perspectives into the FWC process with engagements happening in the Great Lakes and U.S. Gulf regions. |
| Funding: | NOAA Climate Program Office U.S. EPA (through the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and Health and Human Services) |
| Partners: | GLISA (University of Michigan) ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Adaptation International Headwaters Economics Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) |
| Participating Communities: | 20+ small- and mid-sized communities in the Great Lakes region. |
| Learn More: |
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FloodWise Partners:
Past & Current Funders:
