Coastal Resiliency is Vital for New Jersey’s Future

By:        Kevin Paul, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP | Sr. Vice President and Private Sector Real Estate Discipline Director at H2M architects + engineers

On Monday, August 5, 2024, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published “Resilient Environment and Landscapes” (REAL), a set of new draft rules designed to protect homes and businesses along the New Jersey coast from increasingly destructive storms. Some of the most significant REAL rules include:

• Increasing the minimum required height for buildings in coastal flood zones to at least five feet above the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) minimum guidelines, in order to account for rising sea levels.
• Expanding existing flood zone jurisdiction to incorporate more properties susceptible to flood damage.
• Increasing capacity requirements for stormwater management systems to ensure that they can withstand greater levels of flooding.
• Incentivizing the restoration of natural wetland buffers to protect against flooding.
• Improving the DEP’s permitting process to better track the status of authorizations and permits.

According to the DEP, over 500,000 acres of New Jersey land are highly vulnerable to coastal hazards, with nearly two-thirds of New Jersey’s coastline at high risk of coastal erosion, and the near-entirety of the coast facing imminent sea level rise. Therefore, it is more important than ever—regardless of what the final REAL rules ultimately look like—that property owners up and down New Jersey’s coast invest in proper flood mitigation infrastructure.

 

Elevate Your Important Spaces and Equipment

One of the most universal precautions that can and should be taken is the relocation of primary function spaces and important equipment above the area’s design flood elevation (DFE). Unlike the base flood elevation (BFE), the FEMA standard which utilizes the 100-year flood history of a given area, DFE accounts for future rising sea levels and storms of increasing severity. If BFE signifies the elevation we can expect a flood to be in the present, DFE represents anticipated elevation requirements in the future and allows for peace of mind when constructing new developments. DFE is based on “freeboard,” a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard can compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings, and the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.

For areas susceptible to coastal flooding, any code compliant items that sit below the DFE should be secured to prevent them from becoming dangerous projectiles and elevated structural foundations should be reinforced to resist at least 1,000 pounds of impact. By adhering to the DFE and elevating important spaces and items above it, facility managers can protect their most vital assets from both typical and atypical flooding events.

 

Types of Flood-Proofing

Even with primary function spaces safely above the DFE, floodwaters can still wreak havoc on a structure. Flood protection systems defend against flooding in the most important parts of a structure by either acting as a buffer against floods or redirecting floodwaters. These forms of flood-proofing are known as dry flood-proofing and wet flood-proofing, respectively.

Dry flood-proofing involves insulating the structure such that it does not allow more than four inches of water to enter the structure within a 24-hour period. This type of flood-proofing includes technology such as flood-proof doors, which compress against the door frame as flood waters apply pressure, creating a watertight seal. This technique can only be used if the walls are strong enough to withstand the hydrostatic force of the flood waters.

Wet flood-proofing, meanwhile, utilizes vents and breakaway wall systems to allow flood waters to infiltrate the structure and flow to areas that are designed to be resilient to water damage. Allowing a certain amount of water to enter the structure creates an equal pressure on both sides of the flood-prone building foundation, reducing the risk of structural failure.

 

Contact an Expert

Even as rising sea levels and worsening storms pose a threat to coastal New Jersey areas, there are a myriad of effective ways to insulate your property from the worst of it. The specifics of any flood mitigation plan will differ between property owners depending on factors such as the location of the property and the integrity and layout of the structure. The best way to determine which approach to take to flood mitigation is to consult with experienced architects and engineers who specialize in designing for storm resiliency.

To learn more about how H2M architects + engineers can help bolster your commercial real estate against storm damage, visit www.h2m.com, or email Kevin Paul at kpaul@h2m.com or Real Estate Market Director Michele Pincus, Esq., at mpincus@h2m.com.

 

About the Author

Kevin Paul, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, CFM, is a Certified Floodplain Manager with over 40 years of design and construction experience in both residential and commercial fields. He directs the Private Sector Real Estate Discipline at H2M, where he manages and facilitates all phases of architectural and design projects from initial studies through construction administration. Focusing on commercial, industrial, institutional, retail, and residential projects in the private sector, Kevin is responsible for preliminary design, construction document preparation, budgeting, scheduling, planning, code analysis, and construction administration.

Prior to joining H2M, Kevin worked as a project architect in New York City and Long Island on a variety of projects for clients such as the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, colleges and school districts, Metro North Railroad, and multi-family residential developers. In private practice for 25 years, he worked primarily on custom residential design and small commercial projects, including repairing and elevating storm-damaged homes on Long Island, as well as in Brooklyn and Staten Island for New York City’s Build It Back Program, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Kevin is a member of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, the New York State Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association, and the New Jersey Association of Floodplain Managers.