In the event of flooding or a higher-than-normal water table due to heavy rains, sewage could back up through floor drains or plumbing fixtures located in a basement or lower level. When rising storm waters are expected, it is vitally important to establish a watch system to monitor your property drainage system to quickly identify and address any issues such as back-up, flooding, etc. Being prepared and responding quickly often minimizes the damage potential. The following are some methods to help minimize sewer backup into a building.

If sewage starts to back up into a home or business from the floor drains, it is possible to plug these drains. Floor drains are often at the lowest point in your facility and, as a result, may be the first entry point for sewage backup. Rubber or wooden plugs, purchased at many hardware stores, may be used to close off drains during heavy rains. If plugs are used, mark them prominently if they protrude beyond the floor level so they don’t become a tripping hazard.

After plugging floor drains, if the sewer water level becomes high enough, it may fill and overflow other plumbing fixtures located in the basement or lower level. Plug these drain openings with stoppers or plugs. A string mop can be used to help plug toilet openings. Be aware that ceramic plumbing fixtures such as toilets may be fragile.

Plugging of drains or fixtures should only be done where the condition of the sewer piping below the floor is considered to be strong and tight. Otherwise, heavy rainstorms or flooding may cause a build-up of water pressure within the house or business’ sewer system great enough to rupture pipe joints or damage basement floors.

Some properties may have backwater valves installed on sewer lines. Some are manually closed gate valves, while others are automatic check valves.

Remember that while the valve is closed and protecting your home or business from sewage backup, normal sewage flow from the building to the sanitary sewer is also cut off. This means that plumbing fixtures cannot be used unless a pump bypass is provided.

Many towns also have a comprehensive website with information and advice regarding prevention techniques. You should also refer to your local municipality for assistance.

Leak detection devices are a great way to prevent a sewer backup from doing more significant damage. Click here for further reading.

We have seen a dramatic increase in claims arising out of frozen pipes over the last two years. Frozen pipes can present an invisible threat – one that you might not recognize until the weather starts to warm. By then, the water damage can be significant and costly. Fortunately, keeping your home warmer, at a consistent temperature, and better insulated can help protect your pipes from freezing this winter.

Which Pipes Are Most at Risk?

Pipes that are most exposed to the elements, including those outdoors and along the exterior walls of your home, likely need extra protection during winter months. These include the following:

Before winter:

During winter:

Why is a Frozen Pipe a Concern?

When water begins to freeze, it expands. This can cause both plastic and metal pipes to burst, possibly leading to significant water damage to your home.

What Do You Do if You Have a Frozen Pipe?

How to Help Prevent Frozen Pipes
We have created a printable infographic with these reminders for your use.

In addition, make sure you complete MJ’s Winter Weather Checklist prior to the onset of winter weather. More detailed tips to manage the risk of frozen pipes is available here.

Event Planning: All About Contracts – Ruth and Allison are back to discuss the ins and outs about insurance contracts: what are contracts, why are they important, what to look for when dealing with contracts, and why all of this matters to our clients.

Property Basics – In this episode, Allison and Sara discuss the basics of the property coverage. Even if your chapter doesn’t have chapter house, there is still plenty of useful information for all chapter members in this episode.

When we think of making campus facilities more secure, we often chink of high-tech or expensive solutions such as using the latest in communication systems or installing an extensive network of surveillance cameras. Although these efforts do deter crime and arc worth the expense, says Denise Swen, dean of Middlefield Campus at Foothill College in California, many of the efforts to make campus facilities more secure are relatively low cost and low tech.

During her recent online seminar “Including Safety and Security in Campus Facilities Planning,” Swett outlined how to make new and existing facilities more resistant to crime, including the following low-tech options:

Faculty and student training

Students have long been experts at circumventing the safety and security hardware that campuses install in residence halls, Swett noted. They prop doors open, ignore alarms, and lend one another their IDs and/or security swipe cards. As a result, training is key in making the most of equipment.

On Swen’s campus, trainers conduct five-minute meetings in classrooms. The training focuses on the positives of staying safe, rather than on scaring students with potential dangers. (Swen said she is happy to share the script her campus uses in these five-minute classroom appearances. Please email her at swettdenise@jhda.edu to request a copy.)

Landscaping

Something as seemingly simple as landscaping can impact facilities security, Swett noted. A bougainvillea border underneath a bank of windows, for example, serves a security function. The flowering shrub’s tangle of thorns deters potential criminals from accessing the building through the windows. Low-to-the-ground hedges and trees with their lower branches pruned away also enhance security: they keep windows from being obscured and don’t afford potential criminals places to hide.

Landscaping that offers full outdoor view~ also deters potential criminals. On Swett ‘s campus, for example, a grouping of tables in an outdoor spot affords a view in all directions, making it harder for a potential criminal to surprise anyone sitting there or commit a crime without being observed by someone else in the area. In contrast, another campus has a path winding through a garden of tall bamboo plants: although the garden is lovely, people on the path cannot see other people there until they’re in very close range.

Maintenance

Well-maintained campuses send the message “We don’t want you here” to potential criminals, Swett said. In contrast, poor maintenance sends the message, accurately or not, that the campus is “unsecured, ignored, and overlooked”- in other words, a good place to get away with crime.

Signage

Clear, well-designed signage can also deter crime. Signs should be easy to read at night and should not use confusing jargon or acronyms. Campus maps that are current and note the locations of emergency call boxes are helpful to both potential crime victims and first responders.

Addressing windows and doors

Among the top safety modifications included in the report released after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2006 were recommendations to install the following:

• solid doors

• window coverings

• doors without handle~ or bars that can be chained together

Swett noted that among the students locked into classrooms for safety reasons during the Virginia Tech shooting, all survived. Having a solid door, or at least a door with windows that can be covered by curtains or a shade, increases the safety of being locked into a room because an assailant can’t see if anyone’s inside.

Many double door sets can be chained together by an attacker because each door has a handle. If such doors can’t be replaced, at least one of the handles can be removed as an alternate solution, Swett said.

Which approaches should your campus take?

To determine the deterrents that will work for your campus, Swett recommended the following steps:

Special Episode: Housing Forum 2020 Recap – In this episode we recap this year’s MJ Housing Forum, the premier gathering for sorority housing professionals and volunteers.

We’re Back! – Our first episode back after a long COVID-19 hiatus. We share what we’ve been up to, a few lessons from COVID-19, and what we’re planning for future episodes.

Chapter Events in Light of COVID-19 – In this episode, we asked Will Frankenberger, Chief Safety Officer at Delta Zeta Sorority, to join us to discuss events in the time of COVID-19.

Chapter Housing Lessons from COVID-19 – In this episode we discuss what lessons the MJ Sorority team learned from COVID-19 as it relates to sorority chapter housing.

According to the USDA Forest Service, historic fire data show that wildfires are not only getting larger; they also are becoming more intense. As populations increasingly move from metropolitan areas into the outlying fringes bordered by woodlands, grass and brush, this has significant property and life safety implications for households, farms, ranches and businesses. This decentralization into natural settings has created a landscape known as the wildland/urban interface (WUI). The WUI is defined as “the area where structures and other human development meet with undeveloped wildland.”

For those who live or work in the WUI, advance planning and taking safety precautions are critical in helping to reduce wildland fire property loss and injury. To reduce the risk, considerations should be given to the fire resistance of building structures, the topography of property and the nature of and proximity to nearby brush, trees and vegetation. Safety considerations include, but are not limited to:

Read OSHA’s Wildfire: Response/Recovery.

Contact your campus fire department, forestry office, emergency management office and building department for information about local fire laws, building codes and prevention measures. Obtain local building codes and weed abatement ordinances for structures built near wooded areas.

Avoiding Wildfire Damage: A Homeowner’s Checklist

Preparing a Home for Wildfire Season

U.S. Fire Administration Wildfire Outreach Materials

Wildfire Preparedness: American Red Cross

Wildfire Preparedness: OSHA

Wildfires: Ready.gov

Wildfires: Response and Recovery

Wildland Safety

Source: Travelers.com

The U.S. has learned from Japan that retrofitting buildings to withstand earthquakes can save lives and reduce losses. Click the link to watch a video from AM Best discussing retrofitting. “Earthquake Retrofitting Saves Lives, Reduces Losses” (April 2021)

FAQs: Commercial Kitchens – In this episode we discuss all sorts of cooking and kitchen related questions that we hear most often.

We recommend that you complete a House Inventory Checklist and review it once a year (note about this resource: we have made this resource available in Excel because it has built-in formulas for easy manipulation and calculation. Once you click on the link, you can click on the download link in the upper righthand corner to edit your own version). For more information about the property coverage, please click here.