Why Use Buoyant Foundations?

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, homeowners in low-lying areas of  South Louisiana are facing the issue of elevating their houses to comply with the new Base Flood Elevation (BFE) requirements.  Furthermore, many New Orleanians who are not required to elevate their houses remain concerned about their safety in the absence of substantially improved levees. Rebuild Safely Permanently elevating houses, in some areas by as much as 12-15 feet, may be a solution to the problem of flooding but it creates new problems, such as difficult access to living areas, loss of neighborhood character and increased vulnerability of the structure to wind damage. With permanent static elevation, even if a house is raised to the BFE or higher, it can still flood in an extreme event.  In the meantime, residents must live with daily inconvenience and a reduced quality of life in the hope of avoiding  flooding in a future event that is statistically very rare indeed.  A look at floating docks and houseboats suggests that there may be an alternative approach, one that would allow the house to remain close to the ground under normal conditions but rise as much as necessary, even above the BFE, when flooding occurs. Float When It Floods There are existing precedents of cost-effective amphibious houses, or houses that normally rest on the ground but float on buoyant foundations during a flood, both abroad in the Netherlands and at home along the rivers and bayous of South Louisiana.  Why not capitalize on the advantages of buoyant foundations in the rebuilding of New Orleans and flood-prone areas throughout South Louisiana? image credits 'from top': NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ,                                     EC.English, Stuart Broussard, Jill Bambury