NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR FLOOD RISK MITIGATION: MAPPING AND HYDROLOGICAL MODELING IN AN UNDER-RESOURCED URBAN AREA ON THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST

Flooding is the most frequent and costly disaster in the United States, affecting people disproportionately based on environmental, societal, and economic limitations. Through stakeholder engagement, open-access research, and nature-based solutions (NBS), ecology and hydrology can be bridged with local-scale politics to raise awareness of local issues and form strong interdisciplinary bonds. I approached nature-based equity from a ground front, in which I engaged with local stakeholders and city officials to gain insight and calibration on flooding experiences and flooding presence within Moss Point, MS. This engagement helped calibrate GIS models, from which, I found that the flooding hazards of Moss Point coincide heavily with the vulnerability of Moss Point, highlighting the marginalization of vulnerable communities. I also found that impervious area coverage, followed by precipitation, is heavily influential on flooding hazard in this area. I then investigated several NBS within a vulnerable parcel of concern to stakeholders, testing the efficacy of permeable pavement, infiltration trenches, and rain gardens, selected by the stakeholders, in increasing infiltration and reducing runoff during both small and large design storms. I collected local-scale precipitation and water level data and applied it to calibrate a Stormwater Management Model, and then conducted scenario analysis using this calibrated model. I found that NBS can significantly reduce stormwater runoff and that different NBS have varying trade-offs on infiltration and runoff within this area. These findings can help inform NBS design and installation decision-making at multiple scales, as well as begin a dialogue on future development and land use in the face of climate change.