Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Flooding represents a major and growing threat to Virginia. It is the most common and costly disaster in the state. The vast majority of disasters in Virginia have been flood-related, and the state has experienced many additional local flood events. From 1996 to 2016, flood insurance claims in Virginia totaled more than $515 million. Floodplains support local economies and increase the quality of life by providing valuable ecosystem services and recreational opportunities. Natural floodplains and wetlands boost nearby property values and can provide recreational tourism opportunities, increasing personal and shared wealth in the community. These areas also provide a buffer against fast moving flood water, absorb and store excess runoff, and filter pollutants from our water resources. As a result, protected floodplains reduce flood damage and cleanup costs and allow for faster recovery from flood events. Community projects in floodplains can tie together multiple goals including hazard mitigation, open space, historic preservation, recreation, and quality of life, giving these projects the potential to use multiple funding sources. Wetlands protect against flooding with one-acre typically storing one million gallons of water. The Floodplains & Flooding Resilience Category is comprised of four data-models.
Riverine flooding is addressed by mapping the undeveloped forest and agricultural lands upstream of the 10 worst flooding disasters across Virginia based upon jurisdictional risk, dollar losses and federal disaster declarations based on data from the Commonwealth of Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Statewide flooding is also addressed by wetlands maps. Wetlands are included directly via the ConservationVision Virginia Wetlands Catalog map project. Wetlands include mapped and predicted wetlands, streams and floodplains. They are prioritized based on variables including water quality, natural land networks and buffers, ecosystem services and biodiversity. The two highest-class priorities are included.
Coastal Flooding is addressed by the wetlands maps and coastal ecological resiliency map models developed by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and by The Nature Conservancy. Coastal wetlands are critical to the productivity and diversity of marine ecosystems and to the human economies they support. Mapped priorities include those wetlands identified as above average and far above average resilience indicating the greatest long-term potential for adaptive response, based on a projected rise in sea level of six feet. Coastal resilience is also addressed via wetlands identified by the VIMS model that represent the highest class in estuarine and freshwater areas that provide the highest ecological services and provide for the highest marsh migration potential to adjacent natural lands. The resource areas in the Floodplains & Flooding Resilience category represent a total of 537,995 acres.
| Ecological Coastal Resilience | YES/NO - TNC's high priority ecological coastal resilience areas included |
| Virginia Wetlands Catalog | YES/NO - DCR's high priority Virginia Wetland Catalog features included |
| VIMS Marsh Mitigation and Building | YES/NO - VIMS high priority marsh building and migration areas included |
| Flood Resilience | YES/NO - areas historically known to be most flood-prone are included |
| Map Date | Map creation date |
| Deed Requirement | Required protections to meet ConserveVirginia Standards |
Help Documents
How to use the Natural Heritage Data Explorer for interactive versions of all ConserveVirginia maps.
View a Demonstration Video
How to use interactive ConserveVirginia maps on the Virginia Natural Heritage Data Explorer.
