How To Find Home Elevation

Ever wonder how high your slab is compared to the top of your street? Or where h2o is likely to collect in a neighborhood? The US Geological Survey (USGS) has given the states a quick and easy style to lean more than about top.

While the site says the elevations are not as good as a survey's, I found the elevation for my firm to be within inches. This is not something to take to the banking company, but if you're trying to:

Screen several properties for purchase
Figure out why some people in a neighborhood flooded and others didn't
Understand where floodwaters might collect

…this is a skillful place to starting time.

To Find Elevation

Go to this U.S. Geological Survey website called the National Map Viewer.
Enter an address or merely zoom into the area of interest.
Select a base map by clicking on the icon with the 4 squares that form another square. Different base maps permit different degrees of zooming and show various features such as streets, water features, topography, etc., and so experiment.
Above the map area, click on the icon that shows an XY.
A box volition pop upward on the correct side of the screen. Within information technology, click "Activate."
Click on the map location or locations that involvement y'all.
An info box will pop up that shows the location and superlative at the blue dot(s) where you clicked.
To erase the points y'all selected, click "Deactivate."

*Elevations for Riverwood and East Terminate Park Parking Lot*

You can click as many dissimilar points as yous desire. A listing of ALL the places you clicked with their elevations will show up in the right mitt box.

In the example shown above, you can see that Riverwood Middle School at the intersection of High Valley and Kingwood Drive is at 65.03 feet. You can also see that the entry for East End Park is at 53.68 anxiety – more than 11 anxiety lower simply a couple blocks away.

How High Is A Home Higher up Street Level?

This question is crucial if you want to avert street flooding during high intensity rainfalls that overwhelm the chapters of storm drains and forcefulness water to dorsum up in the streets.

Switch to the base map called Streets (if yous were in something else)
Zoom in on the surface area of interest or enter an address.
Again select the XY tool.
Click on the home that interests you to run across the elevation of the slab.
Click on the street in front of information technology.

*Note 3 foot pinnacle difference betwixt slab and house in Streets Basemap.*

Three feet is a pretty good difference. But another abode in the aforementioned neighborhood has a iv.5 foot difference!

*This home sits 4.5 feet above the street.*

Click around in dissimilar neighborhoods, especially those that flooded. On a block that flooded badly in Elm Grove, one dwelling escaped. It was also iv.5 feet in a higher place street level. Others around it ranged from 1 to 3 feet above street level.

When buying a abode, elevation above street level can exist a valuable consideration.

Streets are normally considered part of the flood retentivity arrangement. Developers size storm drains to agree a ane- or 2-year rain. Everything beyond that upwards to a 100-year pelting backs up into the street until information technology can be safely released into drainage ditches. If you aren't high enough…

Slope Within Neighborhoods

USGS offers another useful tool called elevation profiling. To the left of the XY tool, click the tool called Profile.

A box will popular upwards on the correct of the screen. To activate this tool, click on the ruler icon in the box.
Define a path with two or more points.
In the case below, I followed the curves of a street by clicking multiple times.
When y'all get to the finish of the area of involvement, DOUBLE click.
Double clicking changes the tab in the right hand box and starts compiling an meridian contour effect.
Requite the site a few seconds to compile and brandish the profile.

When this contour popped up, I saw that this street had six feet of slope from the westward stop of the cake to a low signal in the middle and then rose dorsum upward three anxiety to the schoolhouse on the correct.

*Example of Meridian Profile Tool.* *Annotation the U-shaped profile in blue and brown on the right.*

It'south mutual practice to slope streets; developers must to ensure that h2o drains to storm sewers. But when the rain comes down so fast that the storm drains tin can't handle it, guess where the pelting will collect. I'grand not certain I would want to buy the house at the bottom of the bowl. (At least non without a disbelieve to compensate for the hazard.)

Powerful Tools at Your Fingertips

USGS has given united states a fascinating tool kit. I have just begun to explore the power of this site.

Several people in Kingwood's Woodstream Village approached me near some flooding on their street. Using the tools on this site, I speedily developed a theory that deemed for all the eyewitness stories.

Accept fun exploring this fascinating tool.

Posted past Bob Rehak on eight/one/2020 with thanks to Laura Norton

1068 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 316 since Imelda