Fredville has put a range of property protection measures in place to lower flood risk across the community. One of the most important is a rule that new buildings in high-risk flood areas must be built at least 2 feet above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), the level that floodwater is expected to reach in a flood with a 1% chance of happening in any given year.
If the first floor of your building sits below the BFE shown on the city's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), consider retrofitting or renovating to make it less vulnerable to flooding.
Staff in the city's Stormwater Department can explain what causes flooding in Fredville, what the city is doing to reduce it, and what level of protection makes sense for your building. They can also come out to your property to talk through options such as retrofitting.
Common retrofitting approaches include:
- Raising the building so that floodwater stays below the lowest floor
- Building a barrier of compacted soil or concrete to hold floodwater away from the structure
- Dry floodproofing, which seals the walls and floor so water cannot get in
- Wet floodproofing, which lets water flow into unoccupied spaces such as parking and storage areas so the rest of the building is protected
- Guarding basements against flooding from sewer backups or a failed sump pump
To learn more about retrofitting, visit the Fredville Public Library or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website.
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