Anybody who’s lived here for any length of time has certainly experienced it. A heavy downpour, combined with high tides, creates impassable roads, floods homes, fields and parking lots, and causes a myriad of other problems.

It’s an all-too-familiar scenario, and one that seems to be occurring with ever-greater frequency. And it doesn’t just happen with hurricanes. Any time the ground is saturated and a great deal of rain falls over a short period of time, we all know that there are some areas you just can’t go. And, if you happen to live in those areas, you get your car to higher ground, move items around your home as best you can to avoid water damage, wait for the storm to subside … and pray.

While it may seem there’s little else we can do, aside from seeking divine intervention, efforts are underway in Virginia to mitigate the worst effects of sea level rise. And, if the state follows through with its plan, Virginia could have “the dist...