This spring has seen record flooding from Minnesota through to the Suwannee River in Florida’s panhandle. When dealing with flood damage there are a number of structural and flood plane issues that need to be considered.

Among these issues are how to safely dewater basements and non-vented crawlspaces. FEMA in its Memo 1829-015 released on April 7, 2009 and titled "Don't Pump Out Basements Too Early or Too Fast" provides some rule of thumb guidelines on how to safely dewater basements & non-vented crawlspaces. In short, the memo correctly points out that draining the water too fast could cause the collapse of the walls, floors, and foundation and that the water must be drained slowly to equalize pressure on both sides of the foundation walls.

Officials recommend the following procedures when pumping basements to avoid serious damage, collapse, or injury to occupants:

• Begin pumping when floodwaters are no longer covering the ground outside.
• Pump out one foot of water. Mark the water level and wait overnight.
• Check the water level the next day. If the level went back up (covered your mark) it is still too early to drain your basement.
• Wait 24 hours, and then pump the water down one foot again. Check the level the next day.
• When the water in the basement stops returning to your mark, pump out two to three feet and wait overnight.
• Repeat daily until all the water is out of the basement.

Additional issues include determining the impact and applicability of FEMA’s Substantial Damage / Substantial Improvement rule (aka 50% Rule). In short, if your structure is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area AND is not currently compliant with NFIP construction requirements then there may be limitations placed on what can be repaired and the extent to which repairs can be made.

For more information on assessing structural damage resulting from floods or navigating NFIP requirements when conducting repairs please contact William Bracken, PE, CFM at wbracken@brackenengineering.com.

The following is an excerpt from the original article published in the FBPE NewsWatch, Volume 12, Issue 1 and has been reprinted here with permission of the Florida Board of Professional Engineers. This article has been reprinted for the benefit of our readers and those with questions on whether an engineering document is required to be sealed or not.

What Has To Be Signed And Sealed?
As provided in Section 471.025(1) all final engineering documents (drawings, specifications, plans, reports and any other documents) that are “prepared or issued” by a PE and are either (1) being filed for public record, or (2) are provided to “the owner or the owner’s representative” must be sealed.

The article then goes on to state:

This requirement applies to final certifications and as-built/record drawings and reports that are filed with agencies at the conclusion of construction. Under the law, the foregoing are the only documents that must be sealed, signed and dated.

It should be noted that this requirement does not apply exclusively to, but does include, documents filed with agencies at the conclusion of construction.

Follow-up: New FEMA Elevation Certificates
Author: William C. Bracken, PE, CFM

To follow-up on last month's eNewsletter, FEMA has updated its Elevation Certificate form and that form is now available on-line. The new form Elevation Certificate (FEMA Form 81-31) as well as the Floodproofing Certificate (FEMA Form 81-65) have been approved for use and are not set to expire until March 31, 2012.

It was reported by the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFM) that FEMA will permit a "phase-in" of the revised Elevation Certificate on a voluntary basis during a 12-month transition period beginning April 1, 2009.

To access the new form, click the image below.

For more information on this subject please contact William Bracken, PE, CFM at wbracken@brackenengineering.com.