Flood protection in Boca Raton

A 25% flood insurance discount

Boca Raton says its floodplain management currently qualifies residents for a 25% discount on flood insurance premiums, and the City recommends flood cover whether or not a home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area. New flood policies usually take 30 days to start, so owners buy cover before hurricane season, not during a storm watch.

Flood protection is designed around that flood zone and insurance picture.[1]

Tide on Lake Boca Raton

NOAA's Lake Boca Raton gauge, just inside Boca Inlet, records a 2.19 ft mean range and a 2.47 ft great diurnal range (1983 to 2001 epoch). With the dock band set in NAVD88 and the tide close to the inlet's, lift and float travel is planned from these numbers.

Tide and king tide levels show how often water reaches the property today.[2]

A height band, not just a minimum

Boca Raton's Engineering Design Standards Manual sets any new or replaced seawall or dock between 4.0 ft and 6.0 ft NAVD88. The maximum is unusual among the cities we work in: a wall or dock cannot simply be built as high as the owner likes.

The seawall stops tidal overtopping; barriers and vents protect the building behind it.[3]

Designed for 12 to 18 more inches

The same manual asks for seawalls designed to take an added 12 to 18 in of height later without alteration. That sizes the piles, panels and tiebacks today for a raise the owner may only pay for in ten or twenty years.

If the city is citing overtopping walls, flood protection and a wall raise are usually planned together.[3]

What makes Boca Raton different

Plan review needs a current-conditions survey showing the seawall wet face or bulkhead line, the property line and piles, section details with the finished cap elevation, and a proposed site plan. Inspections are staged: a location survey before the cap is poured and before the structural cap and piling inspections, a final engineer report on cap elevation with photos, and a final marine structure survey for docks and lifts.[4]

Agencies beyond the City

Palm Beach County's marine structure checklist for unincorporated areas lists the outside approvals agencies expect to see: FDEP, the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) and the Army Corps, as applicable. That checklist is dated 2005, so we confirm current requirements for each job. The federal seagrass range used in dock design covers Palm Beach County waters.[5][6]

Permits for flood protection in Boca Raton

• City of Boca Raton Development Services: Marine structure permits under City Code Chapter 22, with staged survey and engineer inspections.
• Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND): May be involved for work along the Intracoastal Waterway.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption for docks, walls and lifts on Lake Boca Raton and the Intracoastal Waterway.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal authorisation along the Intracoastal, which the Palm Beach County checklist expects to see with the building permit.

Why a seawall alone does not stop flooding

Miami Beach notes that groundwater rises through the porous limestone under the city, so seawalls by themselves cannot stop flooding. Barriers, vents and drainage each handle a different path the water takes.[7]

Frequently asked questions