Silver Jackets: Many Partners, One team

SILVER JACKETS

Many Partners, One Team

 

For More Information Contact

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District, Email, 904-232-1133

Florida Silver Jackets

STATE OF FLORIDA SILVER JACKETS TEAM CHARTER

The Florida Silver Jackets is an implementation sub-committee of the State of Florida Mitigate FL Working Group dedicated to creating a collaborative environment to bring together Federal, State, Tribal, and local partners to develop and implement solutions to flood risk management problems. 

VISION STATEMENT

A collaborative effort to develop comprehensive and sustainable solutions to Florida's flood hazards.

MISSION STATEMENT

Silver Jackets, as an intergovernmental team of Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies, will provide opportunities to work collectively on flood management issues to:

  • Identify and prioritize actions to reduce the threat and vulnerability of flooding in the State of Florida;
  • Facilitate strategic planning and implementation of life-cycle mitigation and recovery actions to reduce the threat and vulnerability of flooding in the State of Florida;
  • Increase and improve flood risk outreach and education;
  • Identify and implement strategies to leverage available resources and information between agencies

The Florida Silver Jackets Fact Sheet is available for more information.

Team Activities

Astor H&H Study

Analysis of flood management opportunities was completed for the unincorporated area of Astor in Lake County, FL. A hydraulic and hydrologic preliminary modeling effort was completed to represent existing, future, and alternative basin conditions through analysis of a suite of frequency flood profiles. Flooding was analyzed with respect to both rainfall and river stage risk drivers. Analyzed risk management opportunities included raising road elevations, culvert additions, clearing and snagging, flap gate installation, and channel additions. Additionally, roadway erosion and evacuation risk were assessed along with measures to improve resiliency at applicable sites. Critical findings and planning recommendations are provided on the basis of modeling results.

Astor, FL Flood Management Study Report (pdf, 1.03 MB)
Astor, FL Flood Management Study Appendix (pdf, 17.6 MB)

Nature-Based Solutions: Bridging the Gap from Principle to Practice

Nature-based solutions (NBS) provide alternative flood risk management methods by mimicking or using natural features and processes. The goal of this project is to increase awareness, knowledge, and familiarity of NBS with homeowners, community members and leaders, county and municipal planners, along with engineers and engineering students. The project team developed educational materials such as a StoryMap and supporting printable materials focused on six NBS commonly used in Florida and implementation methods, funding opportunities, ecological and community benefits, and community-level guidance for including NBS in planning and flood risk management options. The developed Nature-Based Solutions Engineering Fact Sheets aim to provide initial guidance on topics to consider when designing and planning NBS.

StoryMap: Beaches to Bioswales: Nature's Toolbox for Resilience
Supporting document: Beaches to Bioswales: Nature's Toolbox for Resistance (pdf, 5.98 MB)
Nature-Based Solutions Engineering Fact Sheets (pdf, 1.68 MB)

US 41 Collier Resiliency Study

Over 80 bridges along U.S.41 in Collier County will be reaching the end of their 75-year service life and will require rehabilitation, reconstruction, or another type of improvement in the next several years. This project focused on flood risk along a 50-mile stretch of U.S.41 in southern Collier County, FL, as well as seeking to understand ecosystem restoration in the vicinity of U.S.41 and a vision to improve the resilience of the roadway. Many different entities contributed to this project to make it successful in identifying a regional vision for U.S.41.

U.S. 41 Collier Resilience Study Project documents

The Immokalee Regional Water Plan

The Immokalee region in southwest Florida experiences numerous water-related issues, from flooding in the developed areas and on the Seminole Tribe's Immokalee Reservation to a lack of water in the natural systems of Big Cypress National Preserve and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. This project brought together federal, Tribal, state, and local entities to create a joint vision of water management in the Immokalee region that benefits all partners. The Immokalee Regional Water Plan describes water problems, solutions, and actions agreed upon by all partners and will serve as the foundation for future water management projects in southwest Florida.

The Immokalee Regional Water Plan (pdf, 6.29 MB)

Florida Coastal Resilience Workshop

The Florida Coastal Resilience Workshop for planners and engineers is a Florida Silver Jackets initiative conducted between April and June of 2022 to increase community resilience to coastal storms and sea level rise and facilitate compliance with state laws, statutes, and requirements by providing hands-on training with tools developed by state and federal agencies to assess, communicate, and address risk to Florida communities.

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Lake Martin Flood Management Study

The development of a hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) model and analysis of flood management opportunities was completed for the Lake Martin Basin in Bay County, FL. The scope of this study included defining flood risk drivers and at-risk areas within the basin, identifying potential solutions to reduce flood risk, and analyzing the effectiveness of identified measures.

Lake Martin Flood Management Study (pdf, 5.51 MB)

Resilience Guidebooks Rural Inland Counties in Florida

The State of Florida Silver Jackets Team implemented the Inland Community Resiliency Project that supported the rural inland counties of Columbia and Highlands. The project included preparing a guidebook with proposed solutions to reduce identified risks and building a network of relationships between county emergency mangers, state agencies and federal agencies to improve resilience. Currently scaled to achieve increased community resilience at the county level, this work also serves as a pilot project that could be applied to other rural counties in Florida and across the nation. 

Highlands County Guidebook (pdf, 6.25MB)
Highlands County Workbook (pdf, 10.9MB)
Columbia County Guidebook (pdf, 4.99MB)
Columbia County Workbook (pdf, 11.3MB)


U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supports state-led Silver Jackets Teams through its Flood Risk Management Program.