Infrastructure Solution Services

We’ve seen a lot of flooding over the last year and obviously excessive rainfall is the major factor. But how does development play a role in flooding?

We spoke with Corey Wolff of Infrastructure Solution Services who says, “The more you build, the larger area of impervious coverage you have. As that continues, you’re going to have massive flooding.” His company manages stormwater challenges.

“You’ll see certain areas are more prone to flooding. Areas downtown for example. They are low lying and level, versus newer developments where houses are built,” he explained.

He showed an example of a retention pond and how new designs are done to mitigate flooding issues, adding, “A lot of communities don’t have the luxury of an above ground storm retention basin.”

So if you’re choosing a home, what should you be looking for? According to Corey, “First of all, be very mindful. Look at the history of the area, the floodplain or potential floodplain, find out if it’s a 100-year flood plain vs. 10-year flood plain, especially with all the rainfall we’ve been getting.”

He explained that standards are changing, “The standard used to be building to 1” of rain per hour now it’s moved to 1.5” per hour.”

Corey sees good intentions gone bad. “A stormwater asset will last a long time but has to be maintained,” he said with extra emphasis.

Which leads us to MS4. That’s the stormwater fee that will be showing up in your sewer bill. Corey deals with this challenge almost daily.

“The idea behind a stormwater fee is money will flow to improvements.” He explained further, “If you have so much area of impervious coverage, they offset that with green space that can absorb stormwater. That will help manage future flooding.”

That’s where local townships and boroughs get involved. "Govt plays a critical role, to balance between development, the environment, and making sure people are safe,” Corey said.

And Corey added that after a flood, it’s important to clean out culverts and drainage ditches to ensure they work properly the next time. So be active in your neighborhood in helping to prevent flooding.