Flood maps, river levels and calling 811 before you dig
Three lookups are worth ten minutes before money is spent: whether the house sits in a mapped floodplain, what the nearest river is doing, and where the buried utilities run.
Is the house in a mapped floodplain?
Type the address into FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. It shows the official flood map panel for the lot.
Racine County's Development Services page links to the county's online mapbook as well as the FEMA maps. Inside the city, the City of Racine GIS Hub has a development information map that includes the floodplain.
This matters because waterproofing keeps groundwater out. It does not keep a river out. If the lot floods from the surface, the money may be better spent raising the furnace and the electrical panel than lining the walls.
Which office handles floodplain rules
Racine County's zoning ordinance, which includes its shoreland, wetland and floodplain rules, applies in the Towns of Burlington, Dover, Norway and Waterford. The county office is Development Services at the Ives Grove Office Complex, 14200 Washington Avenue, Sturtevant, on 262-886-8440.
Cities and villages are not on that list. In Racine, Mount Pleasant, Caledonia and the others, ask at city hall or village hall whether digging or filling beside a house in the floodplain needs a permit.
River levels
The county's river levels page links to the National Weather Service gauges for the Fox River above the dam at Waterford, at Rochester and at Burlington, the Root River Canal at Raymond, and the Root River at Racine.
If the basement gets wet on the days the nearest gauge is high and stays dry otherwise, the water in the ground is following the river. That favors a drain and a dependable pump with a backup over any coating on the wall.
Before any digging: Diggers Hotline
Wisconsin's one-call center is Diggers Hotline. Dial 811 or (800) 242-8511 at least three working days before digging. Weekends and state holidays do not count toward the three days.
The rule applies to small jobs and shallow ones too: a French drain, a buried downspout pipe, a window well. Utility lines are then marked on the ground with paint or flags.
When a company is doing the digging, ask it to confirm that the locate has been requested before the machine arrives.
Flood map and digging questions
Does being in a floodplain mean I cannot waterproof?
No. Indoor work such as a drain and pump is the same anywhere. Before anything is excavated or filled outside, ask the zoning office for your municipality whether a permit is needed there.
My street floods in storms, but the flood map shows nothing.
Flood maps deal with rivers and the lake. Water standing in the street during a downpour is a storm sewer matter. Report it to the public works department of your city or village.
I am only planting a shrub next to the foundation. Do I still call 811?
Yes. Diggers Hotline asks for a call even when the project is small and the hole is shallow.
Talk it through with a local company
Call and describe what the water is doing. You will speak with an independent local waterproofing company about coming out to look at your house.
For homeowners: basements, crawl spaces, sump pumps and drainage.
Call (262) 257-3901Racine Basement Waterproofing Help is a referral service, not a contractor. Calls may be recorded. Referral disclosure.