Before the Harvest

“Spring Night, Harlem River” | Ernest Lawson (1913)

Many school districts, colleges and universities are affected by the flooding in the Central United States this week; inspiration enough for revisiting the technical and management codes and standards to avoid and/or mitigate damages.   The consensus documents developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and its affiliate Structural Engineering institute (ASCE-SEI) — should appear in the design guidelines given to professional services firms retained by the facility construction, operations and maintenance workgroups.

The relevant standard in this space is ASCE 24 Flood Resistant Design which is developed jointly with the ASCE-SEI and technical committees of the International Code Council.  Apparently the 2014 Edition is the latest edition so that means that during 2019 will be the beginning of another revision cycle (according to ANSI requirements for 5-year revisions/re-affirmations).

From the ASCE 24 prospectus:

Flood Resistant Design and Construction, ASCE/SEI 24-14, provides minimum requirements for design and construction of structures located in flood hazard areas and subject to building code requirements. Identification of flood prone structures is based on flood hazard maps, studies, and other public information. This standard applies to new structures, including subsequent work, and to work classified as substantial improvement of existing structures that are not historic. Standard ASCE/SEI 24-14 introduces a new concept, Flood Design Class, that bases requirements for a structure on the risk associated with unacceptable performance.

The standard includes requirements for the following: basic siting and design and construction requirements for structures in flood hazard areas; minimum elevations for the lowest floor, flood damage-resistant materials, and floodproofing measures, each tied to a structure’s Flood Design Class; structures in high risk flood hazard areas subject to flooding associated with alluvial fans, flash floods, mudslides, erosion, high velocity flow, coastal wave action, or ice jams and debris; structures in coastal high hazard areas (V Zones) and Coastal A Zones; flood damage-resistant materials; dry floodproofing and wet floodproofing; attendant utilities and equipment, including electrical service, plumbing systems, mechanical/HVAC systems, and elevators; building access; and miscellaneous construction, including decks and porches, concrete slabs, garages and carports, accessory storage structures, chimneys and fireplaces, pools, and tanks. A detailed commentary containing explanatory and supplementary information to assist users of the standard is included for each chapter.

Standard ASCE/SEI 24-14 updates and replaces the previous Standard, ASCE/SEI 24-05. It provides essential guidance on design and construction to structural engineers, design professionals, code officials, floodplain managers, and building owners. The standard is adopted by reference in model building codes.

Keep in mind that model building codes usually change on a 3-year cycle while this standard changes on a 5-year cycle (though intermediates changes can, and do, happen).

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When a technical committee is ready for its proposed changes to receive public comment, those changes will be posted here:

ASCE Standards Public Comment Page

We always encourage direct communication by user-interest technical experts that are either on the direct payroll of an educational institution or work for an outsourced expert agency such as an architectural engineering firm that has deep expertise in safety and economic trade-offs.

You will need to set up an access account.  You may also communicate directly with the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Reston, VA 20191.  Contact: James Neckel (jneckel@asce.org).   Note that ASCE’s Annual Conference is hosted October 10-13 in Miami Florida.  CLICK HERE for registration information.  We encourage our colleagues in #StandardsFlorida to attend this conference for a front row seat on technical committee action.

We are open every day at 11 AM Eastern time to discuss technical specifics of these, and all other consensus documents affecting #TotalCostofOwnership of education facilities.  We also devote one hour per month walking through water-related safety and sustainability codes and standards.  See our CALENDAR for the next teleconference; open to everyone.

Issue: [18-52]

Category: Civil Engineering, Water, #SmartCampus

Colleagues: Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

#StandardsOklahoma #StandardsArkansas #StandardsMissouri

LEARN MORE:

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Highlights of ASCE 24-14 Flood Resistant Design and Construction

National Flood Insurance Program