A hyperlocal flood mitigation initiative

Empowering residents with actionable strategies to reduce their risk of flooding

Is your home at risk for flooding?

The Big Picture

We’re in this together

In New York, we rely on shared infrastructure to mitigate and manage stormwater, including storm drains, sewer pipes, and outfalls. 

When these systems are functioning well, it’s easy to forget they exist. 

But as we experience increasingly frequent and extreme rain events, we are confronted with the reality that they are quickly overwhelmed, resulting in dangerous flood conditions and serious damage.

Even as the City undertakes grand-scale initiatives and projects to mitigate flooding and runoff, a clear need for additional diversion exists within the private residential zones that account for more than 30% of the City’s impermeable surfaces.

Furthermore, the topographic relationship between highlands and lowlands correlates directly with socioeconomic risk factors; downstream communities face disproportionate risks that are exacerbated by the lack of upstream residential stormwater mitigation and management.

By improving drainage and developing stormwater management infrastructure on residential properties in the Gowanus outfall area (OH-007), Flood Club aims to reduce flooding and pollution of the watershed, alleviate pressure on shared city infrastructure, and protect our neighborhood from increasingly damaging and dangerous storms

What We Can Do

Strategic action can reduce your flood risk — and ease your mind!

Field Form has developed a set of holistic drainage design and mitigation strategies for private residents, including installation options and costing.

Together with our industry partners — roofers, plumbers, masons, and drainage specialists — we have implemented these “drainage retrofits” on several pilot projects, typical lots in OH-007, where they have proven highly effective at reducing on-site flooding and eliminating nearly all outflow to the sewer system.

Create a strategy that’s right for you

The elements of our drainage and stormwater management strategies are designed to be customized and combined according to the unique conditions of your space

Strategies

  • Capture Water

    Change the relationship between existing and added system elements, such as downspouts and drains.

    Dry Wells

  • Move Water

    Convey water away from problem areas into appropriate infrastructure, such as drywells and tanks.

    Permeable Paving

  • Stop Water

    Prevent water from reaching problem areas if other mitigation strategies are overwhelmed.

This is Personal to Us

The Field Form workshop and design studio is on Douglass Street between 3rd and 4th avenues – just a block from the head of the Gowanus Canal, and squarely within the overburdened, combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfall RH-034. This means that our neighborhood is vulnerable to flooding and polluting overflow events when just half an inch of rain falls in the area.

We see this vulnerability as a call to action, a chance to engage with our neighbors and use our unique skills and experience to give back to the block.

Click below to learn more and work with us to fight the future flood.