Jefferson Parish derives its uniqueness from being one of the few parishes with land stretching from Lake Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico; with this distinct geography comes distinct vulnerabilities. This includes communities that fall along the entire flood risk spectrum, ranging from low risk within the 100-year Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS)levee protection system to high-risk areas adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. With the threat of sea level rise, coastal land loss and decaying and/or unmaintained infrastructure, residents of Jefferson Parish will experience increased flood risk if adaptive and holistic policies, strategies, and procedures are not designed and implemented correctly.

Land loss, flood risk, subsidence and other environmental risks threaten the stability and viability of already-vulnerable communities on the West Bank of the Mississippi and in the coastal regions of the parish. Inside the levee system on both the East Bank and West Bank, there are challenges associated with subsidence, maintenance of stormwater pumping systems and the HSDRRS levee, and more frequent flooding as a result of more storms that produce high amounts of rainfall. To move forward with a viable adaptive strategy that addresses flood risk while considering socioeconomic conditions to holistically adapt to the future, these specific risks and vulnerabilities must be explored.