Seasonal Tips

Each change of season presents a great time to not only purchase or review your flood insurance policy, but also perform property maintenance that can keep your home and yard dry, whether it be now melt, spring rain, hurricane season, or autumn leaf season.

Winter

  • Clear snow away from your foundation.
  • Make sure gutters are cleaned and downspouts are directed away from your home. 
  • Clear debris from drainage ditches and storm drains.
  • Test your sump pump.

Spring

  • Clean, upgrade, and maintain gutters, downspouts and splashpads so rainwater flows away from your home.
  • Direct your roof runoff to a raingarden to water plants and infiltrate rainwater into the ground. Raingarden design ideas can be found HERE.
  • Clear debris from drainage ditches and storm drains.
  • Work with DPW to improve your lot grading so stormwater drains away from your home.
  • Connect a rain barrel to your gutter downspouts to collect runoff from the roof. This non-potable water can be used to wash your car and water your garden.
  • Elevate the furnace, water heater, central air and other utilities above the design flood elevation.
  • Install "check valves" in sewer traps to prevent flood water back ups into your home.
  • Seal cracks in the foundation.
  • Increase areas of permeable ground cover with native plantings or replace patios and sidewalks with permeable pavers.

Summer

  • Make sure gutters are cleaned and downspouts are directed away from your home.
  • Clear debris from drainage ditches and storm drains.
  • Elevate the furnace, water heater, central air and other utilities above the design flood elevation.
  • Install "check valves" in sewer traps to prevent flood water back ups into your home.
  • Seal cracks in the foundation.
  • Increase areas of permeable ground cover with native plantings or replace patios and sidewalks with permeable pavers.

Fall

  • Routinely clean leaves from your gutters so rainwater flows away from your home.
  • Clear leaf debris from drainage ditches and storm drains. Clogged storm drains can impact the entire street.