Design Flood Elevation

In this article:

• Configurations
• Updating Design Flood Elevation values

Your Forerunner account can be configured to align with your community's freeboard and Design Flood Elevation (DFE) regulations. Additionally, users in your account with adequate permissions will be able to override any automatic DFE value Forerunner populates on a property.

Configurations

Forerunner can automate Design Flood Elevation values to match your account's specific needs and regulations on properties across your account. Reach out to your Forerunner Customer Success Manager for any DFE configuration needs! The section below outlines the ways in which Forerunner can automate Design Flood Elevation values:

Freeboard requirements

Most communities using Forerunner will regulate to a Design Flood Elevation that's equivalent to Base Flood Elevation + fixed freeboard value. This fixed freeboard value could be any number value (for example, 1 foot, 2 feet, 18 inches, etc.) that's added to each property's Base Flood Elevation value. These settings can be configured in a Forerunner account to ensure the fixed freeboard value is automatically added to any property's Base Flood Elevation and will surface on the Design Flood Elevation row on the Property Information Panel.

Be sure to reach out to your Forerunner Customer Success Manager for any DFE or freeboard configuration needs!

Flood zone-specific DFE requirements

Some communities will have different Design Flood Elevation regulations for different flood zones across their jurisdiction. For instance, one community might enforce a freeboard of 3 feet in their VE zones and 1 foot in all other zones. Forerunner can accommodate these needs and specific requirements. The configurable nature of the platform can ensure distinct DFE regulations and requirements are triggered based on the flood zone of the selected property.

Be sure to reach out to your Forerunner Customer Success Manager for any flood zone-specific DFE requirements!

Minimum height requirements

Forerunner's Design Flood Elevation feature is also able to accommodate communities that have minimum height requirements. This is particularly useful when communities want to ensure structures are always built to a minimum heights, regardless of the Base Flood Elevation or freeboard values. Your Forerunner account can be configured to automatically populate these values on properties.

Examples of these DFE rules could be:

• DFE is always 12 feet in AE zones
• DFE is BFE + 1 foot of freeboard OR minimum height of 12 feet , whichever is higher

Be sure to reach out to your Forerunner Customer Success Manager for any minimum height DFE configuration needs!

Multiple rules cross referenced

Note that Forerunner can accommodate more complex logic where multiple Design Flood Elevation rules are cross-referenced against each other. The Forerunner system will intelligently select the rule yielding the highest value, guaranteeing that the final displayed DFE on the property is the most restrictive. Furthermore, we provide a convenient tooltip showcasing the applicable rule for each property listed in the Design Flood Elevation row.

Examples of these DFE rules could be:

• DFE is BFE + 2 foot of freeboard OR minimum height of 18 feet in AE zones, whichever is higher
• DFE is BFE + 18 inches of freeboard OR minimum height of 12 feet , whichever is higher

Disabled Design Flood Elevation

If your community does not regulate to a Design Flood Elevation, the associated row on Property Information Panels can be removed so as to not display any values to your internal team or members of the public.

Updating Design Flood Elevation values

While Forerunner can automate these values on properties across an account, users also have the ability to edit the value and manually enter a different Design Flood Elevation for a given property. Note: members of the public and internal users with View only permissions will not be able to edit and update DFE values.

To update or add a Design Flood Elevation value on a property:

1. Click on the underlined value in the Design Flood Elevation
2. Manually enter the updated Design Flood Elevation value
3. Click Save

When updates are made the Design Flood Elevation values on a given property, Elevation Certificate errors and property warnings referencing the Design Flood Elevation for the property will be re-computed and updated to ensure they are referencing the new Design Flood Elevation.