The Ripple Effect: A New Era of Storm Preparedness Using Real-Time Insight

When a storm is on the way, every minute — and every piece of information — matters. Virginia Beach is creating a Stormwater Operations Control Center (SWOCC) to give City staff a clearer, real-time view of what’s happening across the stormwater system before, during and after a weather event. 

Think of SWOCC as a digital command center for stormwater. It gathers weather forecasts, observations, rainfall totals, water‑level data and information about stormwater infrastructure in one easy‑to-understand platform.

Today, this information comes from many places, such as:  

• Rainfall, tides, water levels and wind from City, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other sources. 
• Stormwater infrastructure and operational data, including pump stations, tide gates, lakes, ponds, drainage systems and sensors. 

Building SWOCC in Stages

SWOCC is being built in five phases between now through 2027, with each phase adding new tools and data. The first release, currently underway, delivers the core foundation: mapping, weather and water‑level forecasts, observed conditions and alerts. The second release, also in progress, adds the City’s stormwater model and sensor data, giving staff a deeper look at how water moves through the system. 

The remaining releases will add advanced operational data, financial and work‑management information, and finally views from traffic cameras, and public reports to 311 and 911.  

Once complete, SWOCC will help the City turn raw data into useful insight. With forecasts, sensors, models and operations information in one place, staff will be able to prepare earlier, respond faster and learn more from each storm.

• Ripple Effect

The Virginia Beach Flood Protection Program — The Ripple Effect — is a comprehensive 10-year plan to address recurrent flooding in Virginia Beach. In November 2021, Virginia Beach voters overwhelmingly supported a resiliency package for several key flood protection initiatives to include drainage improvements, tide gates, pump stations and flood barriers throughout the city. The projects are led by Public Works with support from a community oversight board for transparency and accountability. Learn more at VirginiaBeach.gov/RippleEffect.