The Flood Task Force for the District of Columbia was established by the Office of City Administrator (OCA) in September 2021 to identify policies and projects to bolster flood readiness while equitably protecting the District’s residents and economy from the damage that floods can cause.
The Task Force shall identify equitable ways to reduce the risk of water damage from coastal, interior, riverine, and sewer back up floods in the District, as well as ways to reduce financial impacts of flooding on low- and fixed-income homeowners. In considering potential actions, the Task Force shall prioritize the protection of vulnerable populations, maintenance of the District’s affordable housing stock, increasing the District’s housing supply in a safe and resilient manner, supporting ongoing economic development, and mitigating disparities in real estate access and equity.
Action Plan
Within 12 months of the first meeting of the Task Force, the Task Force shall produce a report that includes an action plan for each of the following categories:
- Flood and sewer line backup insurance;
- Repairing flood damage in low-income homes and neighborhoods;
- Flood proofing of individual homes and facilities;
- Sewer line backups and backwater valve installation;
- Flood mitigation infrastructure projects;
- Regulations, legislation, compliance, and permitting;
- Mapping and modeling;
- Flood mitigation planning and coordination;
- Flood emergency planning, response, and recovery
Task Force Members
The Task Force reports to the Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure (DMOI), who also serves as a voting member, and is jointly co-chaired by the Director of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) and the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water).
Voting Members
The Task Force comprises the following thirteen (13) voting members, or their designees:
- Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure
- CEO and General Manager of DC Water
- Director of the Department of Energy and Environment
- Director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency
- Director of the District Department of Transportation
- Director of the Office of Planning
- Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking
- Director of the Office of Risk Management
- Director of the Department of General Services
- Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
- Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development
- Director of the Department of Public Works
- Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Consulting Members
The Task Force shall consult with the following fifteen (15) nonvoting consulting members, or their designees:
- Director of the Office of Racial Equity
- Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services
- Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority
- People’s Counsel of the Office of the People’s Counsel
- Chair of the Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency
- A member of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington
- A member of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association
- A representative of the Federal City Council
- A representative from National Park Service National Capital Region
- A representative from Federal Emergency Management Agency Region III
- A representative from United States Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District
- A representative from National Capital Planning Commission
- A representative from Pepco
- A representative from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
- A representative from Washington Gas