*Editor's Note: This article has been edited to provide the correct the wrap up date. A previous version listed an incorrect date.

Dutch Dialogues: Virginia Life at Sea Level wrapped up on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, providing city officials in Norfolk, Hampton and throughout the Hampton Roads region with ideas for long-terms solutions to manage and adapt to regional sea level rise.

Dialogues was a workshop that drew together a team of planners, engineers and architects from the Netherlands along with counterparts from Hampton Roads and Virginia, to examine flooding challenges in specific areas of the cities of Norfolk and Hampton. After the examinations, research and discussions, the cities, and really, the region gained crucial feedback and long-term solutions on how to live and thrive with water.

After evaluating the Tidewater Drive District in Norfolk and Newmarket Creek watershed in Hampton and Newport News, participants proposed multilayered solutions such as starting a regional sea level rise compact, with frontline city managers and business alliances, working together to address regional concerns.
 
Other solutions proposed include adding more wetlands, in addition to preserving the quality of those that already exist and implementing multi-use roadways that incorporate walking and bike paths. As well as, creating "bioswales" or landscaped retention areas; adding green roofs; and using rain barrels to retain water and reduce demand.

“We have our work cut out for us, but it is exactly what we hoped for,” said Norfolk City Manager Marcus Jones.

To review Dutch Dialogues: Virginia presentations, plans and pictures go to, http://www.lifeatsealevel.org/.