FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are developed for insurance and regulatory purposes using standardized criteria and specific design flood events. The base flood elevation is the 100-year storm event.

Clay Flood Concepts ventures beyond this. We lived through an enormous, epic scale flood. I have heard it called the 1,000 year, 2,000 year, and even more in conversations with experts. We dont define it this way. We define it as how the watershed and creeks and rivers could behave, if 15-20 inches of rain fell in a few hours. All streams and creeks are connected, and they all affect each other. Rainfall is very complicated and subjective. We use an approach like that of the 4th of July storm to see what happens in different watersheds. Not all storms are equal and the intensity of rainfall varying over time can drastically change the result. For this, we ask to not use this for specific property decisions, permitting, engineering, insurance, or construction. Its for your use if the unthinkable happens.

Many landowners have questions that FEMA maps alone cannot answer, such as:

• How deep could the water become?

• Which direction will floodwaters move?

• How fast could the water be flowing?

• Which parts of my property may remain accessible?

• How might this affect my land?

A conceptual flood map provides a visual understanding that can help with awareness, planning, and discussions about future property use.

I am a licensed engineer with over 21 years of experience. I have a passion for water and a purpose for helping people in understanding heavy storms and impacts they can have.

Flood depth tells you how deep the water may become.

Flood velocity tells you how fast the water is moving.

Even relatively shallow moving water can produce tremendous forces.

General examples

• 1–2 ft/sec: Slow-moving water, but can take a car downstream.

• 3–5 ft/sec: Can knock an adult off balance.

• 6–8 ft/sec: Highly erosive water.

• 10+ ft/sec: Highly destructive flow capable of causing severe structural damage and life-threatening conditions.

Velocity is often just as important as water depth when evaluating flood hazards.

Clay Flood Concepts provides standardized conceptual analyses using predefined storm scenarios developed for the selected watershed.

As of now, additional scenarios are not available.

Custom engineering studies and client-defined storm events are not offered as part of this service.

The visualizations are generated using advanced hydraulic modeling software, publicly available terrain data, and standardized modeling assumptions.

Like all flood models, results depend on available data, rainfall assumptions, terrain accuracy, and model limitations.

These products are intended to illustrate potential flooding and should be viewed as conceptual rather than predictive.

Creating a flood model for an entire watershed is a significant undertaking. Before a single property can be analyzed, the watershed must be assembled using terrain data, stream geometry, rainfall information, hydraulic modeling, quality control, and numerous engineering assumptions. Depending on the size and complexity of the watershed, developing one comprehensive hydraulic model can require hundreds of professional hours and, in traditional engineering practice, often costs tens of thousands to several hundred thousand dollars, with some regional studies reaching into the millions.

Clay Flood Concepts takes a different approach.

Instead of building a custom hydraulic model for every individual client, we develop a comprehensive conceptual model for an entire watershed and then use that model to produce standardized visualizations for individual properties. By spreading the cost of creating the watershed model across many property owners, we're able to offer conceptual flood visualizations at a fraction of what a custom engineering study would typically cost.

This approach allows landowners to gain meaningful insight into potential flood behavior without the cost of commissioning a traditional site-specific hydraulic study.
Our goal is to make advanced flood visualization accessible to everyday property owners—not just governments, developers, and large engineering projects.

Our goal is to make advanced flood visualization accessible to everyday property owners—not just governments, developers, and large engineering projects.