Elevate or Bust: Homeowners Near Houston Impacted by New Flood Rules

In December 2017, Harris County, Texas approved changes to its flood rules, requiring builders in some areas to elevate houses up to eight feet higher than before.

“There’s no real substitute for elevation. That’s your best bet,” said Tim Reinhold, senior vice president and chief engineer of research organization Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). CityLab reports that the National Flood Insurance Program has $25 billion of debt, with rates that continue to rise. Storms are expected to intensify in the future, and will force homeowners to decide if they want to elevate their homes at their own cost, or move elsewhere.

However, the most effective means of elevation that John Jacob, director of the Texas coastal watershed program at Texas A&M University, recommends doesn’t involve a special kind of foundation. The surefire way to keep a home or a neighborhood high and dry is simple: Don’t build it in a floodplain. “What we ought to do,” he said, “is build in the right place.”

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