City of Grand Forks
Flood Information
Please note: this information was released by the City
of Grand Forks Inspection Department before the April, 1997 flood.
Some of it may be out of date. I will post new information as
soon as I receive it. In the mean time, please contact the
Inspections Department with any specific questions you may have.
-- RWIC Webmaster.
This information is being made available to you from the City of
Grand Forks, so that you are aware of the flood hazard to your
property. Your questions and comments on the subjects covered
here are welcomed and appreciated. To find out more about your
property and if it's in the flood hazard area contact the
Inspection Department. The department office is located in City
Hall (255 N. 4th St.) on the second floor, or you can reach us at
746-2631. The Inspection Department has reference materials on
floodplain regulations, flood proofing, and retrofitting. Also,
the Grand Forks Public Library has been supplied with an extensive
collection of materials on these subjects for your use.
Sump Pumps
A properly installed sump pump with drain tile can greatly reduce
chances of getting water in your basement. Be sure to direct the
discharge hose away from the house, out towards the street if
possible. Otherwise divert it to a low point in the yard, clear
of neighbors property. Discharge hose can not cross city
sidewalks. Periodically clean sump pit and check operation of pump.
Federal, State and City laws prohibit discharge into the
sanitary sewer.
Flood Safety
There are several actions residents of flood hazard areas can take
to decrease the potential of injury due to flooding:
- Know the flood warning procedures and evacutate the flood hazard
area when advised to do so.
- Do not attempt to walk through a flooded area.
- Keep children away from flood waters, ditches, culverts, and
storm drains.
- Do not drive through a flooded area or around road barriers; the
road may be washed out.
- If your vehicle stalls in high water, abandon it immediately and
seek higher ground.
- Have your electricity turned off by the Power Company or cut off
all electric circuits at the fuse panel or disconnect switches. Stay
away from power lines and electrical wires.
- If this is not possible, turn off or disconnect all electrical
appliances. Don't use appliances or motors that have gotten wet
unless they have been taken apart, cleaned, and dried.
- Shut off the water servies and gas valves in your home.
- Look out for animals, especially snakes.
- Look before you step. After a flood, the ground and floors are
covered with debris and mud and can be very slippery.
- Be alert for gas leaks. Use a flashlight to inspect for damage.
Don't smoke or use candles, lanterns, or open flames unless you
know the gas has been turned off and the area has been ventilated.
- Use a generator or other gasoline-powered machine outdoors only,
they can produce dangerous levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO).
Clean everything that got wet. Flood waters may have picked up sewage
and chemicals from roads, farms, factories, and storage buildings.
Spoiled food, flooded cosmetics, and medicine can be health hazards.
When in doubt, throw them out.
Flood Warning System
The Grand Forks Emergency Operation Plan provides comprehensive procedures
for preflood preparations, emergency flood response, evacuation, and
disaster relief activities, and postflood activities. The plan sets forth
the criteria and procedures for iniating and conducting a flood response
and the organizational structure and coordination mechanisms required
between all levels of government and the public. The Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) provides a central location and facility for control,
coordination, and communications, in response to a flood emergency. The
EOC is located in the basement of the police building (122 5th Street South #21).
It provides facilities for command/communication functions, meetings, and
conferences, and for preparing public information releases. Flood forecasts
are issued by the National Weather Service. The activation of the EOC will
depend on the forecasted severity and expected timing of flood crests at
Grand Forks.
Stay tuned to local radio or local TV stations, and also to NOAA weather
radio for information and updates on flood watches or warnings. The
City of Grand Forks has an outdoor warning system that consists of
sirens strategically located throughout Grand Forks. The sirens are
activated to alert residents to receive the warning message by tuning
into local radio or TV stations. Know the terms used to describe
flooding: Flood Watch: Flooding is possible. Flood
Warning: Flooding is occuring or will occur soon. The Emergency
Management Office and Emenrgency Operations Center can be reached by
the public at the following telephone numbers: 701-780-8213 and
701-746-2685 respectively.
Property Protection Measures
Rather than wait for a code requirement, you can act now to protect your
property from flood damage. There are various actions which can be taken
to retrofit or floodproof structures. Electrical panel boxes, furnaces,
water heaters, and washers/dryers should be elevated or relocated to a
location less likely to be flooded. Basement floor drains and interior
and exterior backwater valves can be installed, and interior floodwalls
can be placed around utilities. Several retrofitting measures include:
- Elevating the building so that flood waters don't enter or reach any
damageable portions of it.
- Constructing barriers out of fill or concrete between the building
and flood waters.
- "Dry flood proofing" to make the building walls and floor watertight
so water does not enter.
- "Wet flood proofing" to modify the structure and relocate the contents
so that when flood waters enter the building there is little or no damage.
- Preventing basement flooding from sewer backup or sump pump failure.
If flooding is likely, and time permits, move essential items and furniture
to the upper floors of your home. Keep materials like sandbags, plywood,
plastic sheeting, and lumber handy for emergency waterproofing. This action
will help minimize the amount of damage caused by floodwaters.
Flood Insurace
Standard homeowner's insurance policies do not cover losses due to floods.
However, Grand Forks is a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program,
which makes it possible for Grand Forks property owners to obtain federally
backed flood insurance. This insurance is availiable to any owner of
insurable property (a building or its contents) in Grand Forks. Tenants
may also insure their personal property against flood loss. Local insurance
agents can sell a separate flood insurance policy under rules and rates set
by the Federal government. Any agent can sell a policy and all agents must
charge the same rates. Your rates will not change just because you file a
damage claim; they are set on a national basis.
Most people have purchased flood insurance because it was required by the
bank, with a federally backed mortgage or home improvement loan. Any
property owner may purchase flood insurance whether they have a mortgage
or not and whether they are in the SFHA (Special Flood Hazard Area) or not.
Usually these policies just cover the building's structure and not the
contents. During the kind of flooding that happens in Grand Forks, there
is usually more damage to the furniture and contents than there is to the
structure. Don't wait for the next flood to buy insurance protection.
There is a thirty (30) day waiting period before National Flood Insurance
coverage takes effect. Contact your insurance agent for more information
on rates and coverage.
Drainage System Maintenance
Do not dump or throw anything into the ditches, coulees, rivers or other
bodies of water. Dumping is a violation of Grand Forks City Ordinances.
A plugged channel cannot carry water, and when it rains, the water has
to go somewhere. Every piece of trash can contribute to flooding. Even
grass clippings and branches can accumulate and plug channels. If your
property is next to a body of water, please do your part and keep the
banks clear of brush and debris. The City has a storm drainage maintenance
program and inspects it regularly. Grand Forks has a storm drainage system
which is composed of both open and closed segments. The open sections are
drainage swales/ditches which are utilized to carry storm waters away from
homes to drainage areas, such as coulees or rivers. The closed system is
comprised of storm water inlets and piping which also carry the water from
streets and developments to drainage areas.
Maintenance of the drainage system is very important so that a high flood
flow capacity can be realized. To aid in this, the City of Grand Forks
clears and performs other maintenance work on the system. Work is also
performed on an emergency basis as needed. Debris in ditches obstruct the
flow of water and can partially or completely fill ditches, which can
reduce the flood flow capacity and will also result in overflow onto roads
and/or private property.
If you see dumping or debris in any body of water, or if you know of
unapproved changes occuring to the drainage system, such as filling or
rerouting of streams or ditches, or a nuisance situation which exists,
please contact the Inspections Department at 746-2631.
Substantial Improvement Requirements
Always check with the Inspections Department before you build on, alter,
regrade, or fill on your property. A permit is needed to ensure that
projects do not cause problems on other properties. If you see construction
without a City permit posted, contact the Inspections Department at 746-2631.
New buildings in the floodplain must be protected from flood damage. Our building
code requires that new buildings constructed in the floodplain must be elevated
above the base or "100-year" flood elevation. No construction, including filling,
can be allowed in the mapped floodway of Grand Forks without an engineering
analysis that proves that the project will not increase flood damage elsewhere.
The ordinance also requires that all substantial improvements to a
building be treated as a new building. A substancial improvement is when
the value of an addition, alteration, or reconstruction project exceeds 50%
of the value of the existing building.
Natural and Benificial Floodplain Functions
Our floodplain plays a valuable part in providing natural and beneficial
functions to the area. Floodplains that are relatively undisturbed, or
have been restored to a nearly natural state, provide a wide range of
benefits to both human and natural systems. These benefits can take many
forms: some provide aesthetic pleasure and others function to provide
active processes, like filtering nutrients. Our community has areas of its
floodplain that are in a mostly undisturbed state that serve as a natural
filtration system as well as providing flood and erosion control and
wildlife habitats. Several of our other floodplain areas are used for
recreational purposes such as our bikepaths and parks along the river
(Riverside, Central and Sunbeam Parks). These natural and beneficial
functions are not always easily recognized. Here is a short list of
some:
- Provide flood water storage and conveyance.
- Filter nutrients and impurities from runoff.
- Provide open space for aesthetic pleasure.
- Maintain bio-diversity and the integrity of ecosystem.
- Contain historic and archaeological sites that provide opportunities for study.
- Provide natural flood and erosion control and reduce flood velocities and peaks.
- Create and enhance waterfowl, fish and other wildlife habitats and provide
breeding and feeding grounds.
- Enhance agricultural lands for the harvest of wild and cultivated products.
Floodplain Developement Reguations
The City of Grand Forks has adopted, as part of the City Code, regulations on development
in flood districts. These regulations specify two types of flood hazard areas; the
floodway and the flood fringe. These areas are identified on the
map included herein. The purpose of these regulations is to control the alteration
of natural floodplains; prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will
unnaturally divert flood waters or which may increase flood hazards in other areas;
restrict or prohibit uses which may result in damaging increases in erosion or in flood
heights or velocities; and the control of filling, grading, and other development which
may increase flood damages. Floodplain development permits are required for construction
or substantial improvements in flood hazard areas. Uses which have a low flood damage
potential and do not restrict flood flows shall be permitted in the floodway, provided
they are not prohibited by another ordinance. These uses shall not require structures,
fill, dumping of material or waste, or storage of materials or equipment. The most
common uses of the floodway are agricultural or recreational in nature, and parking/lawn
areas of residences. Flooding fringe districts permit the same type uses as floodway
districts. The construction of structures is also permitted, provided they lowest floor of
any structure (which is the basement or the main floor if no basement is constructed) is
no lower than the base flood elevation.
This information was provided by the Inspections Department of the City of
Grand Forks.
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