Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

[U_Stormcrow]

Pretty much the whole state would fail. The home I grew up on was 6 feet above mean sea level - it was abotu two miles inland. Second house? 14 feet above mean sea. You had to drive 30 minutes inland from the beach to get there. House in Tampa? Almost 40 foot above mean sea - and didn't flood only because I was upstream of the flood control gates they built to protect a more expensive community nearby. But the area where I delivered pizza? 20-30 foot above. They deliberately flooded it ahead of major storms, we'd lose 1/3 of our delivery area.

Now? About 185 foot above mean sea, though there are higher spots on the property.- one of the highest areas in the State. Officially, the state's highest spot is a 15 minute drive, just over 300 ft elevation.

I have a brother lives in Miami. Parts of the city are now at negative elevations, much like New Orleans....

 

[Sally PB]

Pretty much the whole state would fail.

When we lived on a lake, the property had to pass a perc (not perk, duh) test for a permit to build. How do you build on your soil? (Building ignoramous here.)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

we have perk tests here, too - primarily for placing septic.

Most of FL is built "slab on grade". They put down a vapor barrier, , build a large formworks, lay rebar and plumbing, then fill it full of concrete. The house gets put on top. A "deep" foundation around here is a 2-3 foot perimeter trench, but "slab on grade" doesn't even have that. We don't freeze (most of the state), there is no frost heave - and the water table is so high in places that a trenched foundation would be at or near water table.

When you get far enough north that there's an actual rolling slope (not big enough to be a hill), they will build a pony wall out of CMUs (concrete masonry units - the 8x8x16 concrete blocks you buy at Lowes of less than 2$ ea) to raise up one side to level, and pour the floor from grade to the top of the short wall, usually only a couple rows tall.

 

[NagemTX]

we have perk tests here, too - primarily for placing septic.

Most of FL is built "slab on grade". They put down a vapor barrier, , build a large formworks, lay rebar and plumbing, then fill it full of concrete. The house gets put on top. A "deep" foundation around here is a 2-3 foot perimeter trench, but "slab on grade" doesn't even have that. We don't freeze (most of the state), there is no frost heave - and the water table is so high in places that a trenched foundation would be at or near water table.

When you get far enough north that there's an actual rolling slope (not big enough to be a hill), they will build a pony wall out of CMUs (concrete masonry units - the 8x8x16 concrete blocks you buy at Lowes of less than 2$ ea) to raise up one side to level, and pour the floor from grade to the top of the short wall, usually only a couple rows tall.

Oh same way they build where I am. We are almost in the same conditions but I'm on black clay, swampish land, or might call it a mid river bottom. We are currently experiencing alot of rain so back to normal if not over watered right now.

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks for the explanation, @U_Stormcrow.

I remember hearing at various times my mom, dad, step-dad, and uncle all saying that if a parcel of land didn't perk, you couldn't build on it. What I didn't know was they were probably talking about putting in a septic system. It was a rural area, so no city water/sewer. And if you can't put in a septic system, well, what's the point of building a house?

The questions you don't ask when you don't know what you don't know.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thanks for the explanation, @U_Stormcrow.

I remember hearing at various times my mom, dad, step-dad, and uncle all saying that if a parcel of land didn't perk, you couldn't build on it. What I didn't know was they were probably talking about putting in a septic system. It was a rural area, so no city water/sewer. And if you can't put in a septic system, well, what's the point of building a house?

The questions you don't ask when you don't know what you don't know.

WHen a dispute arose between sugarcane growers in the Everglades area and others as to why so much nitrogen was getting into the Gulf, causing algae/red tide blooms (the Sugar cane growers were getting all the blame, due t fertilizer use), the growers determined a keen way to detect how much nitrogen was leaking from poorly maintained septic at or near the water table.

The measured Rx drug levels in the groundwater!

Obviously, big sugar isn't in the clear, but failed, failing, and flat out abandoned septic systems are clearly a much bigger part of the problem than anyone previously imagined, much less acknowledged.

 

[Sally PB]

The measured Rx drug levels in the groundwater!

I've been hearing more about this! Since just about every person is on some kind of prescription nowadays...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I've been hearing more about this! Since just about every person is on some kind of prescription nowadays...

The flip side is also true - large cities with sewer and good testing could predict outbreaks of COVID - and sometimes even locate it geographically to a specific area of the city - by testing waste water far more effectively than any other method.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Once again wasn't receiving notifications.

 

[SheaLoner]

Once again wasn't receiving notifications.

If you go to the forum section of the drop down, you can find all your watched threads. I got tired of missing notifications too.