Why Do Flood-Prone Buildings Need A Watertight Basement?

When new buildings are being constructed from concrete, the basement is an important part. Not only does it have to fit with a structure that is strong and balanced to support the weight of the building and avoid subsidence, but it also provides storage space.

However, such storage space will be a liability if the basement is prone to flooding, because everything in it will, at worst, be destroyed or badly damaged or at best, even if it is items resistant to water (like things made of plastic), inaccessible while flooding occurs and requiring a clean-up afterwards.

For this reason, it makes sense to have a watertight basement if there is any flood risk, something that has increased greatly in recent years.

Why Are Flood Risks Increasing In The UK?

Meteorologists have stated that the kind of severe wet weather that causes floods is more likely due to climate change, as warmer temperatures mean more evaporation, which in turn means increased precipitation.

For this reason, even locations that were unlikely to suffer floods a few years ago are now at greater risk, with the proverbial ‘one in 100 years’ events happening every few years. This means building flood resilience is increasingly important.

Whereas this can be achieved to an extent in some areas with higher and better riverside flood defences, this will not be possible everywhere. For example, one cannot build high walls around lakes. Moreover, a flood defence in one place, preventing water from reaching historic flood plains, will often pass the problem onto someone else downstream.

Although the south-east of England is drier and may suffer more droughts as the climate changes, it is not invulnerable.

The Thames Flood Barrier, which became operational in 1982, offers one of the most comprehensive defences against tidal and storm surges, but the government has acknowledged that this will soon not be enough as the climate changes.

You may not have control of major public infrastructure like flood defences, but when constructing a building, you can certainly take practical steps to keep the basement storage area dry. A watertight basement will ensure neither floods nor groundwater can cause damage or inconvenience.