Milton, MA

Fontbonne Academy

Scope/Solutions
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Project Summary

Scope/Solutions

Fontbonne Academy, a secondary girls’ school, experienced several flooding events on the campus and adjacent roadway. At times, water entered the school’s below-grade spaces, causing damage to equipment and affecting operations within the facility. During one rainfall event, the mechanical rooms, including the main boilers and electrical panels, were submerged under more than 10 ft of water. SGH investigated the flood issues at the campus and developed strategies for mitigating future damage.

Highlights of our investigation include the following:

Reviewed available structural, civil, and geotechnical information and performed detailed site visits to understand the existing conditions
Identified design flood elevations, building and site vulnerabilities, and flooding causes
Evaluated options for floodproofing the existing site infrastructure
Determined that installing a flood wall around the building’s perimeter was the most feasible option
Developed the design concept for a new floodwall around the low-lying areas of the building complex, including a subsurface cutoff to eliminate excessive seepage below the wall due to the highly permeable sand and gravel stratum
Reviewed accessibility issues related to maintaining access to the building through the floodwall
Evaluated potential seepage paths into the building space, including backwater through plumbing utility lines
Developed drainage concepts for pumping stormwater, which could not drain by gravity once floodwaters surrounded the building
Prepared construction cost estimates for the owner’s consideration