Flooding is one of the most devastating natural disasters Wisconsin faces each year, and ReadyWisconsin is encouraging everyone in the state to think about how to protect themselves and their property.

“Flooding puts lives at risk and has the potential to do severe damage throughout a community,” says Wisconsin Emergency Management Administrator Brian Satula. “Last year, it claimed two lives in Wisconsin and caused millions of dollars in property damage. Take steps now to help protect your home and to make sure you know what to do when the water is rising, so everyone in your family remains safe.”

Wisconsin had two federally declared disasters in 2018 following flooding in northwestern Wisconsin in June and across the state in August and September. Those disasters alone resulted in more than $60 million in reported damage to individual properties and public infrastructure. However, those numbers represent only a portion of flood damage in the state each year.

ReadyWisconsin offers the following advice during Flood Safety Awareness Week:

Turn around, don’t drown – Do not drive or walk through flooded areas. Just six inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult, while 12 inches can carry away a small car. Even if the water is not moving, floodwaters can conceal damage to pavement or other hazards that may be lurking beneath the surface. If you encounter floodwaters, find a different route!

Know your flood risk – Do you live in a floodplain, have a basement, or live near a source of water? These are all things to consider when examining the potential for flooding on your property. Plan with your family for what you will do if the floodwaters begin to rise.

Make improvements to protect your property – If you have gutters, make sure they are kept clean and the downspouts are directing water away from your foundation. Repair cracks in your foundation and improve your grading so water flows away from your house. Cover window wells to keep water from building up inside them. Install safety valves on pipes bringing water into your home to help guard against backups.

Purchase flood insurance – Just an inch of water in a home can cause thousands of dollars in damage, which many homeowners and renters insurance policies will not cover. Evaluate your current coverage and consider purchasing a flood insurance policy. Most flood coverage takes effect 30 days after purchase, so don’t wait until there’s a risk of flooding to act!

You can find more information about flood insurance at https://www.floodsmart.gov/.

Written by Andrew Beckett, Wisconsin Emergency Management

The Community Rating System (CRS) recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) standards. Depending on a community's level of participation in CRS, flood insurance premium rates for policyholders can decrease by up to 45 percent. Besides the benefit of reduced insurance rates, CRS floodplain management activities enhance public safety, reduce damages to property and public infrastructure, avoid economic disruption and losses, reduce human suffering, and protect the environment. The Wisconsin DNR offers technical assistance on designing and implementing some activities at no charge. Participating in the CRS provides an incentive to maintaining and improving a community's floodplain management program over the years. Implementing some CRS activities can help projects qualify for other federal assistance programs.

Three-part Approach Works for Stamford, Connecticut

“Higher regulatory standards, open space preservation, and public outreach are the heart of our city Flood Program,” says Richard Talamelli, environmental planner for Stamford, Connecticut. “And the Community Rating System has been right in there with all three aspects of it.”

Being a CRS Class 7 community brings about $350,000 in premium savings each year for the community’s 2,700 policyholders. “This is a huge driving force behind the community’s participation in the CRS,” Talamelli notes.

Stamford stretches over 52 squares miles (including a fair amount of water) between the New York state line and Long Island Sound. With three major rivers and 18 miles of coastal waterfront, it is subject to both riverine and coastal flooding and counts about 4,800 properties in its identified flood hazard areas. Its 126,000 residents form one of the most highly educated cities in the United States.

Higher Regulatory Standards

“We’re very regulatory conscious, and we have to be,” explains Talamelli, “largely because of the density of our population.” The Flood Program is managed by the city's Environmental Board, a regulatory agency that also oversees the wetlands and coastal programs. All of these programs have an array of strict federal, state and local regulations.

“The CRS is not regulatory,” adds Talamelli, “but it brings tangibles, especially in the form of premium reductions, that give us support for our Flood Program.” One positive aspect of the CRS has been the creation of an “atmosphere of proactive flood loss reduction.”

“Our strength is that we have strong and enforceable standards and it is the CRS that encouraged us to take these to a higher level, both by providing credit points and by providing a template for reaching higher,” Talamelli says. Stamford has freeboard requirements, which are a safety factor expressed in terms of a specified number of feet above the calculated flood level. Stamford also applies rules to protect its critical facilities and dangerous materials, enforces strict building codes, and requires that substantial improvement thresholds be calculated cumulatively. “In conjunction with this,” Talamelli adds, “the CRS makes you document everything. This is a strong element of the program. It makes you more aware of what you are doing and what you should be doing.”

Preserving Open Space

Open space preservation is an important focus for this urbanized community. The community has had some success in removing flood-prone properties and keeping the land as green space. “We were doing some of it already, but the CRS definitely made us be more aggressive in our efforts,” Talamelli says. Many of the city’s open space areas are protected with easements and conservation agreements.

One huge open space effort has been the Mill River Park, a three-mile greenway along the riparian corridor to Stamford Harbor that incorporates natural areas and recreation opportunities. The park is also acting as a catalyst for residential and commercial development in the heart of the city. In collaboration with numerous public and private entities, Stamford created about 20 acres of new open space and restored many more.

By including the city’s plan for the park in the Stamford Master Plan, creating a new Mill River Zoning District, and establishing capital accounts , the stage was set to acquire property and contracts for the park’s design and development. Mill River Park Collaborative raised private capital and the city used tax increment financing for its share of the funding. Beginning in 2000, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied how the restoration of local ecosystems could be accomplished, and subsequently endorsed the removal of the historic Mill River Dam. Removing the dam restored a natural stream channel and wetland habitats.

“All of those things we did together reduced the flood risk substantially . . . and the containment capacity of the floodplain is greater,” says Milton Puryear, former executive director of the Mill River Park Collaborative, in a newspaper article last year.

The result is an award-winning, 30-acre urban park that is a highlight of the city center. The city removed invasive vegetation, and restored native woodland, riparian and meadow species, attracting birds, insects and mammals. Without the dam, anadromous herrings and eels returned. This work rejuvenated public access to the river, and the open space reduces the amount of development that is vulnerable to flood damage, earning CRS credit for Stamford.

Outreach

Outreach is crucial to Stamford’s Flood Program because, as Talamelli notes, “Everybody needs a sound and clear explanation of what we do. Most people want to do the right thing and the more familiar they are with the program, the more accepting they are.” People coming into the office to visit with the staff is encouraged.

“With CRS guidance, our outreach projects have become more motivational and have reached a broader audience,” Talamelli says. The city produces publications about flood insurance, property protection, preparedness, and where to get more information. Storing information in the city’s libraries and website makes it accessible. Distribution is increased by mailing a brochure once a year to all 4,700 flood-prone households, with a different pamphlet sent to owners of all the repetitive loss properties. Speaking engagements at various professional organizations, such as the Board of Realtors®, are a regular occurrence.

“Whenever the opportunity arises, we go into the schools with our information and this makes a big impact on the students,” says Talamelli. In closing, Talamelli notes, “We were doing many flood mitigation activities before, but never to the level that we achieved since the CRS. Joining the CRS has been a huge step forward for us.”