Flood Awareness Week: NoVA Counties Stress Safety, Waterproofing

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County is teaming up with Fairfax County to raise awareness about drownings and waterproofing homes during Virginia Flood Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday.

Both counties have been hit hard by floods over the past decade, with the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County moving to address flood plain issues and the Westover neighborhood of Arlington devastated by a flood in July 2019.

Among its messages, Virginia Flood Awareness Week stresses personal safety with the “Turn Around Don’t Drown” campaign. The National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report more than half of all flood-related drownings occur when motorists attempt to drive through flood water.

For residents, just an inch of water entering a home can result in as much as $25,000 in damages. Flood Awareness Week seeks to educate the public about whether it is worth purchasing a flood insurance policy, which on average in Virginia costs between $400 and $1000 annually, based on the odds of a flood affecting their home.

Tips for protecting homes from flooding include:

• Cleaning gutters and downspouts can help water drain away from structures.
• Keeping storm drains clear of debris enables water to drain away from property during heavy rainfall.
• Investing in a sump pump can help remove water that may accumulate in a home during a storm.
• Checking homes for water entry points. During a flood, water may enter through basement windows, basement stairwells, doors, dryer vents or cracks and gaps in the foundation. Some of these can be repaired or protected with low walls or temporary shields.
• Making sure the ground slopes away from the foundation to keep water from getting in when it rains.

In Arlington, work is underway on a stormwater vault at Cardinal Elementary School in Westover in response to the effects to surrounding businesses and homes from the July 2019 storm. The county partnered with Arlington Public Schools to design and build a much larger detention vault under the athletic fields.

Dredging also is scheduled to take place this fall in lower Four Mile Run in Arlington to preserve the flood channel’s capacity and reduce flood risk in neighborhoods surrounding Lower Long Branch and South Four Mile Run.

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