FEMA’s BRIC Program a Boon to Savannah, Ga., Neighborhoods

In a press release in conjunction with officials from Savannah, Ga., Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell announced a $30.15 million grant for a two-part project to reduce the flood risk of 17 neighborhoods and unincorporated areas of Georgia.

The grant is from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, and in the first phase of the project will widen and improve flood water drainage across 1.42 miles of the Springfield Canal to the Highway 17 onramp.

The project will be in conjunction with the current Tide-to-Town project, a collaboration between the city and several local organizations to connect 75 percent of Savannah’s neighborhoods to walking and biking trails.

The second project funds upgrades for local stormwater drainage infrastructure in the historic Carver Village and Cloverdale neighborhoods. It will divert runoff from neighborhoods to the Springfield Canal, minimizing potential flooding in the local community. When finished, the program will effectively discharge the runoff from a 25-year flood and a 24-hour event.

“For decades, we’ve seen success after success working with the communities in the aftermath of a disaster to build back stronger and mitigate their future risk,” Robert Samaan, FEMA regional administrator said in a statement. “The key to the BRIC program is how we work with communities before there is a crisis, applying the lessons we’ve learned from our 45 years of disaster recovery to solve these kinds of problems.”

Through the BRIC program, FEMA invests in mitigation activities with a focus on infrastructure projects that benefit disadvantaged communities, nature-based solutions, climate resilience and adaptation, and adopting hazard-resistant building codes. BRIC funding is available throughout the nation on a competitive pre-disaster basis.