Titusville launches FDEP-funded vulnerability assessment to map flood risks, prioritize assets

Titusville on Feb. 1 held its first public engagement meeting for a FDEP-funded ‘‘vulnerability assessment’’ designed to inventory municipal and city‑maintained assets, analyze flooding exposure for multiple planning horizons and produce a prioritized adaptation plan and supporting maps.

The project, presented by Lily, sustainability program coordinator for the city, and consultants from Geosyntec, is required by FDEP guidance and will assess the design life of critical assets for a 50‑year planning horizon. "This is our first public engagement meeting associated with the vulnerability assessment project," Lily said during the webinar. The consultants said the study also is intended to position the city for additional funding and to help the city earn points in FEMA's Community Rating System that can reduce flood insurance costs for property owners.

Consultant Kathy, consulting project manager with Geosyntec, described the scope: the inventory must include municipal assets the city owns or maintains and evaluate vulnerability to multiple flood types — rainfall, storm surge, tidal flooding, sea‑level rise and compound flooding. Kathy said the assessment will group assets into four FDEP‑specified categories: transportation and evacuation routes (including marinas), critical infrastructure (including water/wastewater and utilities), community and emergency facilities (hospitals, affordable housing and social centers) and natural/cultural/historic resources such as the Indian River Lagoon and shorelines.

"The big focus is ... critical assets — we have to assess them for what they will be vulnerable to and for flooding, for the next 50 years," Kathy said. Mark Ellard, senior engineer with Geosyntec, explained the technical products the city will receive: a final report documenting methodology and results, maps showing assets and flood impacts, and a prioritized list of assets or geographic focus areas. The team will also deliver an adaptation plan that lists candidate projects, conceptual descriptions and preliminary, order‑of‑magnitude cost estimates to help the city budget and pursue further grants.

The consultants described two primary analyses. An exposure analysis will model multiple flood scenarios for three planning horizons (current year 2025 and mid‑ and late‑century planning horizons, 2050 and 2080) across storm surge, rainfall and compound flooding. A sensitivity/impact analysis will evaluate how those flood scenarios affect the inventoried assets and identify priorities for mitigation or adaptation.

Schedule and next steps presented to attendees: the project kicked off in December; background data compilation is expected to be completed in the spring (April timeframe); exposure and sensitivity analyses will proceed through the summer with public and council briefings planned around September 2025; a draft final report is expected in December 2025; and the overall project close‑out (including coordination with the Brevard County Local Mitigation Strategy and the adaptation plan) is projected around March 2026.

Organizers used live polls to gather attendee priorities (outreach/education, water quality, critical infrastructure and emergency facilities ranked highly among respondents) and they directed residents to an online story map and a public comment form on Titusville's website where comments and mapped problem reports will be captured as project input. Lily said she will post the meeting recording and links to the story map on the city's Resilient Titusville web pages.

During a question‑and‑answer session, participants asked about nature‑based barriers, wave attenuation devices, low‑impact development, and the feasibility of a large stormwater facility in western wetlands. Kathy and Mark said the assessment will capture community suggestions and that a variety of approaches — natural, engineered, and ‘‘treatment‑train’’ combinations of many smaller measures — could be identified, but some larger actions will require additional study, permitting and funding. "If you build walls and barriers to keep flooding out, you also need to address the water that happens inside those barriers and make sure it has a way to get out," Mark said, noting permitting limits around wetlands and the need to coordinate with water management authorities.

All comments submitted through the story map or directly to staff will become part of the public project record, the consultants said.

The city and Geosyntec urged residents to submit locations of recurrent flooding and other local knowledge through the story map and indicated there will be at least one more public update when preliminary results are ready and another presentation to city council after the draft report is complete.