Snow Melt may cause a basement flood or two in Tuckahoe NY 10707

Not all floods are created equal in Westchester County, NY, especially with snow melt this spring and Sandy as the "new normal."

Just look out your window in Tuckahoe or Eastchester, NY 10707 and you'll notice more snow again in Westchester.  It's been storm after storm and, hey, doesn't Spring arrive this week?  At last, or maybe not.  The issue this week is that 5 inches of snow that fell in our county last night is equal to 1/2 inch of water when it melts.

When this happens, the question is where does the water go? This is not good in areas of Westchester that are low, near the Bronx River or Hutchinson River and are prone to flooding.  

Luckily, the strong winds with this week's named "Winter Storm Ukko" did not take down power lines.  So, our sump pumps stayed on and most of us had dry basements this morning.  Even during late winter, there is a lot of water in a frozen state underground and in our water table that we don't see, of course.  

When Spring arrives and temperatures rise, all our frozen water below ground and any snow on top is going to melt.  Those of us with basements and who know and love dehumidifiers understand where this is going.  My family flooded three times since 2010, into our finished basement and garage and we're in the business.

"Forrest, bring the truck mount home because we flooded again...about 2 inches on the carpet in the basement...!"

However, you may be able to avoid that annoying spring melt that sometimes leads to wet walls and flooded floors in our basements, especially if they are finished in dry wall and flooring we care about!  With a few precautions, you can avoid a water damage disaster that can overflow even our ceiled and painted / finished lower levels.

Start top down and make sure that your roof shingles, soffets and flashing were not damaged in all of these wind and snow storm events into March.  Look in your attic or on the top floor ceilings and roof, for signs of water damage.  We have roofers coming later this week to repair a whole end soffet hanging down over our back door -- it's going to nail us, the dog, cat, my parents...unless it gets repaired.  Plus, water damage is affecting the interior structure of our roof, since it's open to the weather.

Also, check out all of your gutters and flashing and make sure that you don't have an ice dam issue, such as on the north side of your home or business.  You'll see icicles hanging from gutters, or old ice laying on top of the gutters that will hold water and creep under shingles to flow into walls and ceilings.

If you have a dam, have someone get up to your gutters and use a snow melting product in small burlap or bags that are "green."  Place them along your gutter against the "ice dam" to melt it before it thaws too quickly on our first warm day.  Check all gutters and joints to make sure that the melted water can get through to your ground level.  Also, you'll want to be sure that ground level drainage and splash blocks are under the gutters to keep runoff from running into your foundation....wet basements again!

If snow or wet dirt are against your foundation, with poor drainage, you can bet that snow melt and our April showers may end up flooding into or through your foundation.  If you can't see your foundation above any leftovers from recent snow, clear all the snow away around the perimeter.  For our older homes in historic Westchester, our footers may not have been built with drain systems around the perimeter at that level.  We can't fix that, but you want to be sure your home has a system to carry of the water melting or percolating up, during the spring snow melt.

Have a mason / landscaper come and take a look at your home or business and look at the ground sloping (hopefully) away from the foundation.  Walkways can sometimes pack down and slope toward a structure, leading to flooding from runoff at this time of year.

Be sure to check your sump pump for any clogs and be sure that it's operating well through the next spring months.  Also, check out any home protections or insurance policies and make sure that you know what "water damage" is covered in the fine print.  What we may define as a "flood" situation may not be the legal definition for your particular policy, or your area and property may need more / different coverage.

If you live or work along the sound shore and need insurance in or near Mamaroneck, call a great rep at Nationwide:  Jo Ann Prescott.  She's a seasoned pro at finding the right home policy that fits your property and location, especially now that FEMA remapped the country for "flood prone areas."