Have you decided to build a house or vacation cabin in a floodplain area? Congratulations! You are about to receive a pretty valuable piece of property that will become a perfect place for you and your family and a brilliant estate asset.
However, there are certain things to consider before, during, and after building a house in a floodplain area. Unless you manage to create a thorough plan, your property will constantly suffer from floods and water damage. It can be hazardous for you and your family. Moreover, the existing water damage and perspectives to face regular floods will definitely spook away prosperous buyers if you decide to put your waterfront property on the market.
Another thing to consider is that in some instances if you build in a floodplain area, you may have to purchase special flood insurance on it, which can end up in additional spending of about $700 per year.
In this article, we shall discuss the primary things to consider when you decide to build any waterfront property, whether a house or a business, and how you can save a great deal of money, time, and effort following the fundamental requirements towards such constructions.
What is Base Flood Elevation?
Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is the elevation that floodwaters are expected to rise to during a base flood event, with a 1% chance that floods will occur in the given area. It is also known as the "100-year flood zone".
Before you build in a floodplain area, the first thing you should do is make sure that the future construction will be located higher than the BFE. It will save you most of the trouble with flood risks and legal requirements for your waterfront property in the future.
In addition, you may also face some local requirements from the community. Floods damage local economies greatly, and each damage or loss to the property in the area becomes a burden for the provincial budget and economy. To prevent those risks, most communities that already have experience with flood events often have particular requirements towards new constructions built in the floodplain area.
The area within the 100-year flood zone is called the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Planning to build a house within SFHA, you should prepare yourself for numerous complications. Except for the threat of regular floods and water damage, there is a strong chance that you will have trouble requesting a bank loan for the house or have to obtain mandatory flood insurance by all means.
Are FEMA flood maps accurate?
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regularly publishes floodplain maps, which reflect the perspectives and hazards of floods in the floodplain areas.
Most homeowners tend to rely entirely on those maps before building their waterfront properties. However, unfortunately, those maps are not always 100% accurate.
Fema also manages the Flood Insurance Program, which operates according to those maps. However, knowing that mistakes and miscalculations often occur in them, the flood insurance program strongly recommends inviting a land surveyor or civil engineer to estimate the current flood risks in the area and provide relevant information to FEMA before you start planning the built.
What are LOMA and LOMR-F?
Depending on the final verdict about flood perspectives in your area, you may or may not have to place fill to raise your property over the BFE.
When no fill is required and the area is naturally located over the BFE, you should receive the Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA). It allows you to remove your site from the SFHA and releases you and your property from most obligations and complications regarding the built-in the.
If the fill has to be made or has already been made to elevate the construction over the BFE, you should obtain the Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F). The fill and receiving of the letter should be made before you start digging the foundation for your future waterfront property.
It is also essential to remember that receiving LOMA permitting is free of charge, while the LOMR-F procedure provides a one-time fee of $525.
When you decide to build in a floodplain area, it is essential to start planning and preparation in advance. Arranging the expertise from a qualified engineer and obtaining LOMA or LOMR-F letters and the flood insurance policies (if required) may take anywhere from 30 to 90 days. However, it is strictly forbidden to start digging the ground or making other preparations before following the procedure. Otherwise, you may have to face some pretty severe financial and legal complications and lose a great deal of time, money, and effort even before the hypothetic flood strikes the area.
However, even if you have placed your house way above the BFE and got all the necessary insurance policies, the ongoing tendency of climate change and global warming along with man-made terrain change lead to floods happening more and more often. It is essential to have a reliable and convenient anti-flooding solution for any house or business property today.
Dam Easy Flood Barriers are innovative and sustainable devices that allow you to protect your property from water damage and avoid its consequences. Our flood barriers are easy to install and remove, withstand a 3-foot flood without a leak, and don't require much storage space. Unlike most anti-flooding solutions like sandbags or flood sacks, they can be used multiple times, making them the perfect zero-waste alternative to other traditional solutions.
Contact Dam Easy today and learn about our flood barriers and other modern solutions that will secure your waterfront property and give you peace of mind to enjoy all the benefits of living or working next to a beautiful lake or river without being afraid of floods and water damage.
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