Why Choose Our Flood Barriers for Buildings
Protect your building right from the start
There’s no better time to add flood protection to a building than now. When you add a perimeter Flood Control Wall (IFCW™) from Flood Control America to your specification for a new build, you can seamlessly integrate custom, code-compliant flood protection barrier systems into the property. IFCW is a critical infrastructure component that helps protect buildings and mitigate business interruptions, flood damage, and the need for extensive flood recovery.
Add protection to new or existing properties
Whether you recently acquired a new property or you realize the need for flood protection for the properties you own or operate – Flood Control America can help. Our IFCW system is a proven, removable flood barrier solution that can help you protect your investment, keep businesses up and operational, and reduce the risk of property damage. It’s an essential layer of protection, especially for buildings in flood-prone or hurricane-risk areas.
For nearly 30 years, our USACE-accepted barriers have kept water out so businesses and communities can keep moving forward.
Why Flood Protection is Critical for Buildings
Proactive protection is more cost-effective than post-disaster recovery. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that for every dollar invested in disaster preparedness, communities can save more than six dollars in cleanup and property damage costs. If your property is located in a coastal town, adjacent to a river, or in a flood-prone urban area – the IFCW system can help reduce your financial risk. Investing in a flood barrier for buildings today protects not only your property but also the work that gets done in that building. Vital inventory stays dry. Cleanup is minimal. Water intrusion is prevented. Property damage is mitigated. Our invisible flood barrier system is set in place when you need it – and gone when you don’t.Working with your maintenance team, we can design a flood protection system that’s completely invisible when not in use. We can also integrate IFCW™ into any existing levees or concrete walls your community or facility has in place.
Common Flood Risks Faced by Commercial and Public Buildings
Is a flood barrier right for your building?
- Consider the latest maps by FEMA, indicating hurricane, coastal flood and riverine flood zones. For many areas, these zones have grown in size.
- Has your building experienced water infiltration after a heavy rain, in below-grade spaces, near doors or windows, or at your loading dock?
- What work takes place in your building – and if that work is compromised due to a flood, what’s the implication? Are you running a data center? Warehousing critical healthcare or lifesaving products? How much would it cost to replace vital inventory and equipment?
A flood protection system can help reduce your risk of operational disruptions while protecting your facility and everything in it – especially against hydrostatic loads and impact loads associated with floodwater.
How Our Flood Barrier Systems Work
Durable, solid and reliable flood protection
Using unobtrusive steel plates embedded in a concrete foundation, our Invisible Flood Control Wall (IFCW™) is engineered to be erected before a flood and easily removed and stored after the event. Every system is custom engineered to the building and designed to integrate seamlessly with architectural features, providing protection where and how you need it.
Innovative system
The removable IFCW™ walls are constructed from aluminum planks. Each plank features a hard rubber gasket to seal it in place. The planks are also designed to fill with water as flood height increases, creating further stability and integrity to counteract water pressure and potential impact forces.
Why Choose Flood Control America?
IFCW perimeter flood barriers are used across the United States. You’ll find us protecting airports, municipal buildings, museums, ballparks, educational institutions, riverfront walkways and more. Plus, our system has been analyzed and accepted for use by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with installations on many Corps projects.
- Nearly 30 years of experience in flood protection
- 100% American-made materials and components
- Trusted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Nationwide installations across multiple industries
- Proven performance in coastal, river-town and urban flood events
- Expert support from design to implementation with a commitment to excellent customer service
Who We Serve
A flooded building doesn’t just mean lost paperwork; it can mean billions of dollars in sensitive equipment and inventory lost coupled with catastrophic downtime while a business recovers.
Flood Control America has worked with a wide range of clients in the building and development space, helping them protect their investments:
- Building Owners: Protect your property from damage while you add value for tenants and business owners.
- Facility Managers: Keep your buildings up and running while you reduce or eliminate costly, time-consuming cleanup.
- Architects & Engineers: Integrate compliant, custom barrier systems into new or existing buildings.
- Municipalities: Safeguard public facilities, community assets and historic buildings or areas.
- Developers: Build flood-resilient properties in high-risk zones.
Our flood barriers for buildings are compliant with floodplain management policies, FEMA and other regulations.
FAQs
Why are flood barriers important for buildings?
Buildings and their contents are a major investment – and one flood event can wipe out these assets. If your building is used for business, a flood can also halt operations or damage critical inventory. A flood barrier helps you protect your investment, keep businesses operational, and reduce the risk of severe floodwater damage
How do removable flood barriers work?
- We embed or cast base plates into a reinforced concrete foundation. These remain in place and are level-set into the ground.
- Galvanized steel posts attach to the base plates when there is a risk of flood.
- Patented aluminum planks slide into the steel posts, creating a flood barrier wall.
Are these systems compliant with FEMA, NFIP or local building codes?
Our flood control systems meet FEMA and NFIP flood compliance requirements. While local building codes vary by municipality, we haven’t run across a code yet that we can’t meet or exceed!
What parts of a building are most vulnerable?
Any low-lying or open areas. This includes below-grade spaces, doors and windows, and loading docks. We can walk your property or review building plans and assess areas that pose the greatest risk.
How do we know if our building needs flood protection?
We suggest looking at historical data for your area as well as updated FEMA maps for hurricane, coastal flood and riverine flood zones. For many communities, these zones have gotten larger. If your building was considered “safe” in the past, it’s important to check these zones regularly.
What is the installation and maintenance process?
Removable flood barriers can be installed at a rate of 100 to 200 square feet per man hour. For example, an 8-foot by 200-foot long (1,600 square foot) flood barrier system could be set by a crew of four workers in about four hours. We also recommend an annual installation drill, where your maintenance team will install a portion of the flood gates to ensure readiness.