The Challenge
Driven by climate change, flooding in Massachusetts is increasing in intensity frequency, and geographic extent. Increased flooding causes financial distress to homes and businesses and affects the health and well-being of those who live, work, and do business in the Commonwealth. By 2050, damage to coastal buildings from flooding is projected to reach more than $600 million per year on average, a nearly fourfold increase over current levels. Similarly, damage to inland buildings is expected to exceed $50 million per year on average by 2050, a 44% increase.
Construction standards, enforced through building codes, are an important resilience tool shown to save lives and money. An analysis by FEMA in 2020 shows that communities that have adopted hazard-resistant building codes have avoided at least $32 billion in losses from natural disasters since 2000. By 2040, it is estimated that the savings could accumulate to upwards of $132 billion from codes already adopted.
Project Scope
The Massachusetts Building Code Study and Local Floodplain Action Guide comprise a cooperative project between EOED, DCR, CZM, and EEA to develop actionable strategies for municipalities and the Commonwealth to strengthen flood-resilient development in and outside of the state building code. The Project has two parts:
- Code Study – Evaluate the state building code for future opportunities to reduce flood risk through stronger, more resilient construction standards; and
- Action Guide – Create a guide to assist cities and towns in taking impactful zoning, administrative, and other local actions to promote flood-resilient development in concert with the state building code.
This project was funded in partnership with a federal grant from the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program. Activities included the evaluation and identification of nearly 60 potential code options and local actions to increase or promote flood-resilient development in the Commonwealth. A subset of these options and actions were selected for further development into building code language and a local action guide. Additionally, a series of online engagement sessions were conducted for community and municipal input. Sessions included four regional meetings on inland flooding, another four meetings on coastal flooding, and two focus groups on the impacts of flooding and floodplain regulations on Environmental Justice (EJ) populations.
Metrics
Code Study
Model language and justifications were developed for 10 code options to strength Massachusetts’s existing construction standards and reduce flood risk. Success of the study will be measured by future funding commitments to explore the benefits and costs of these options, as well as by inclusion of one or more of these options in the 11th edition of the state building code.
Action Guide
Ten (10) local actions were compiled into the Commonwealth’s new Building Flood Resilience Guide. This guide provides a summary of each action’s benefits, potential challenges, steps for implementation, example communities, and potential language for bylaws, policies, or practices. Success of the guide will be measured by its use in implementing local actions and the number of participants and communities represented at future trainings for the guide.
Results
Code Study
Model language and justifications were developed for 10 code options to support future opportunities to update the state building code. If considered, these code options would mitigate flood losses and strengthen the resilience of new buildings and major repairs and renovations across Massachusetts.
Action Guide
The Building Flood Resilience Guide provides detailed summaries of 10 actions that Massachusetts cities and towns can consider to promote flood-resilient development in concert with the state building code. Each summary includes a discussion of the action’s benefits, potential challenges, steps for implementation, example communities, and potential language for bylaws, policies, and practices. Additionally, the guide includes sections on anticipated future flood risk, EJ considerations, and supplementary topics around flood resilience, including urban flooding and green gentrification.
Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Benefits and Costs Analysis – Robust data on the benefits and costs of higher construction standards are limited. FEMA’s 2020 Building Codes Save report shows that nationally, substantial savings have been realized from the adoption of hazard-resistant building codes. However, the savings identified in this study were limited to physical damage avoided in buildings and contents. Other types of benefits (e.g., reduced loss of income or business interruptions) and costs (construction cost to meet codes) were not modeled, nor were the damages assessed by the study specific to flood losses. A robust, state-specific evaluation of benefits and costs should be considered when developing resilient standards in the future.
Equity and Housing Affordability Considerations – Assessing the equity of higher construction standards is multifaceted. While higher standards provide savings and benefits for those most exposed to flooding, they typically carry some degree of cost or unintended consequences, as well. In Massachusetts, Environmental Justice and other priority populations are disproportionately exposed to flooding and for many reasons, are less able to recover from flood damage. Simultaneously, rent and home prices in Massachusetts are among the highest in the country, predominantly due to inadequate housing production. Ultimately, a solution that balances resilience and affordability may require a comprehensive approach to flood mitigation, with higher construction standards being only one part of the solution.
Project Alignment with ResilientMass Plan Priority Actions
This project contributes to cross-government action #8 of the ResilientMass Plan: Develop a local option “Stretch Flood Code” for residential and/or non-residential construction. This project provides a basis of discussion for future consideration of a “Stretch Flood Code.” A stretch code consists of an appendix to the state building code that municipalities may voluntarily adopt to require more resilient standards for construction in their communities.
Further Action
In FY23-24, DCR submitted a federal grant application to the FEMA BRIC Program to support the next phase of development of higher floodplain standards. This application was submitted in collaboration with EEA, CZM, DEP, and EOED. If awarded funding, DCR and partners will undertake an in-depth assessment of higher flood-resilient standards and thereafter, complete a robust loss avoidance analysis to monetarize future benefits of select standards, taking into account state-specific climate change projections. The code options and justifications completed through the current project will provide the basis of discussion and starting point for this next assessment.
Find the project materials at Building Flood Resilience Guide| Mass.gov