Keeping water at bay, tips for home flood prevention in the Charleston area

Flooding in Charleston is nothing new, but it is getting more frequent and more severe. While government officials may address the issue on a large scale by contemplating projects like a $1.1 billion seawall and local drainage improvements, homeowners and renters can take steps to protect themselves, too.

The first step, Charleston Chief Resilience Officer Dale Morris said, is getting flood insurance. Part of Morris' job with the city is evaluating where flood risk is most and least severe and what officials can do about it.

Flood insurance is required by some mortgage lenders for anyone living in a floodplain, but Morris recommends it for almost everyone in a city like Charleston. That includes renters, who can use the coverage to protect the items within their home or apartment, especially if it's on the first floor.

When deciding where to rent or buy, it's helpful to know how severe a property's flood risk is, but that information isn't always easy to find, Morris said.

"There is no coherent or consistent strategy," he said. "Some states require some amount of disclosures, sometimes its voluntary."

Thanks to a 2019 policy change from the S.C. Real Estate Commission, a standard disclosure form that sellers fill out in South Carolina asks if a property has been subject to flood insurance claims, and, if so, the dates they occurred. Sellers must provide all past claims, even those before their ownership.

Morris also suggests two resources to look up an address's flood risk. New York-based nonprofit the First Street Foundation runs a national database of flood risk that allows users to type in any address and receive a risk assessment on a scale of 1 to 10 along with an explanation. It is found at floodfactor.com.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood insurance rate maps also help determine a property's risk, but they are not updated frequently, he said.

Considering what investments to make to prevent floodwaters from entering a home depends on an individual's resources and whether a resident rents or owns their property, said Grayson Forehand, sales manager at Mount Valley Foundation Services for the Charleston region.

"If you're renting, you're not necessarily going to spend on anything permanent," Forehand said.

At the most basic level, renters can purchase sandbags or request them from their landlord to fortify entrances to the home or apartment prior to a storm. Eyeing the property's gutters is another option. Some landlords may offer to send a maintenance team to clear them if requested, Forehand said.

"Having a plan, somewhere to move items during a storm and working with the landlord will help," he said.

For any other concerns, evaluating flood risk before signing a lease and buying flood insurance afterward are some of the best options for renters, Forehand said.

Homeowners have more options to consider. Companies like Mount Valley Foundation Services offer to install different types of pumps that can siphon water away from a crawlspace or basement.

Another option is considering the area surrounding a home, Morris said. Installing rain barrels and limiting the amount of "hardscaping," such as patios and driveways, can help the yard absorb water and keep it from running off into a home.

"Dry flood proofing is when you don't let water in the house and wet flood proofing is what you do if water does get into your house," Morris said.

An example of wet flood proofing would be designing a home to have electrical outlets installed high up off of the floor to limit potential water damage, he said.

Knowing the age of a home's roof is important, too, said Carl Evans, co-owner and principal of Charleston-based flood proofing company, AguaSeal. Many shingled roofs need replacement after about 20 to 30 years, he said.

"For most people, a roof is out of sight, out of mind," Evans said. "They don't concentrate on a roof until they need to."

Getting ahead of roof repairs saves money in the long run, he said.

While Evans' company focuses primarily on sealing and waterproofing roofs for large-scale commercial properties or military bases, he has seen more interest from residential homeowners.

From the bottom up, home flood prevention is unique to each house and apartment but help Charlestonians save money and sleep a little more soundly.