In This Section
Fortify Lauderdale is a citywide initiative focused on improving resilience to the impacts of climate change within the City's most vulnerable neighborhoods and communities. The program includes an expansion of the first phase of Stormwater Master Plan projects, as well as the acceleration of the second phase of the Master Plan's implementation.
There are eight neighborhoods included in Phase 1:
The status of each neighborhood can be found within the monthly Fortify Lauderdale newsletter at Fortify Lauderdale.
There are more than 17 neighborhoods being addressed under Phase 2:
In 2016, a consultant was brought in to create a model that looks at flooding across the city. Modeling results, along with feedback from City officials and staff, helped decide which neighborhoods would be part of Phase 2.
The seventeen neighborhoods have been aggregated into twelve projects, which will be completed in three groups of four. The City Commission will guide the order in which these projects are implemented.
The best way to share your thoughts on flooding is by filling out the Flood Survey on or before Monday, March 17, 2025. For more information and an explanation on how the Flood Survey works you can view a recording of a Neighborhood Meeting from February 24, 2025.
A variety of potential adaptation strategies are being proposed including extending the drainage system, increasing conveyance capacity, installing pump stations, installing tidal valves, capital maintenance, implementing a private resiliency program, upgrading existing pump stations, raising seawalls, improving grading, and rehabilitating swales. It's important to remember that not all strategies work in every area due to many factors such as existing topography. The strategies listed are not one-size-fits-all; the project team will leverage the best data available to propose adaptations unique to each area.
No, it is not feasible to design a system that could handle the extreme weather event we experienced in April 2023. These projects are intended to reduce the frequency, duration and intensity of flooding in vulnerable areas. The goal of these projects is to design systems that can handle a 10-year storm event, which has an average of 8.7 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Following the April 2023 flood, the City Commission decided to accelerate Phase 2. Phase 2 was originally set to start in 2025 and cover seven neighborhoods. Instead, efforts began at the end of 2023 and Phase 2 now includes more than seventeen neighborhoods and adjoining areas.
Resilience is the ability to prepare for natural disasters, adjust to changes and recover from disruptions. Building resilience requires teamwork between the City and property owners (private resilience).
As part of Fortify Lauderdale, the City hired a consultant to review private resiliency programs from other communities and states as well as on the federal level. The consultant will also speak with homeowners, business owners and developers about challenges to improving private resiliency. Finally, the consultant will create guides to aid both residential and commercial property owners in strengthening their private resilience.
Neighborhood outreach meetings will continue into early 2025. In early 2025, the findings from these meetings, along with conceptual designs for all Phase 2 projects, will be presented to the City Commission. Design work for the first set of projects will also begin in early 2025.
There will be additional opportunities for community input when project designs are developed and when construction starts. These meetings will follow a similar format to the initial neighborhood outreach sessions and will be posted on the Fortify Lauderdale website.