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ANSI Adopts National Standards for Testing Flood Barriers

Before a municipality or building owner makes a substantial investment on flood barriers, they probably want some sort of assurance that the equipment has been rigorously tested and will keep flood waters out.
ASFPM, in partnership with FM Approvals and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been testing products since the 2012 launch of the National Flood Barrier Testing and Certification Program.
However, there have been no national consensus testing standards. Since 2002, the three partners worked on national level standards resulting in FM Approval Standard 2510. Now, the American National Standards Institute has adopted that standard.
Approval Standard 2510 stands as the only U.S. national standard for flood barrier products, and ANSI also promotes the use of U.S. standards internationally.

USACE flood barrier testing facility in Mississippi.
“ANSI/FM Approvals Standard 2510 now raises the bar for industry best practices consistent with the goal of testing and certifying flood barrier products used for flood proofing and flood fighting,” said Drew Whitehair, ASFPM’s project manager and project coordinator for the testing program. “This accreditation by ANSI demonstrates compliance to a rigorous internationally recognized process and further demonstrates the value of flood abatement equipment certification through the National Flood Barrier Testing and Certification Program.”
ANSI/FM 2510 is the only standard that evaluates the performance of the product in realistic flood conditions and the components and materials that comprise the product.
The standard covers perimeter barriers, which are temporary emergency structures used to protect the area surrounding an occupancy from flood conditions; opening barriers, which are devices capable of preventing flood water from passing through an opening in a structure; backwater valves, which are installed in building drainage systems utilizing a check valve to prevent backflow; and flood abatement pumps, used for the removal of unwanted water.
FM Approvals offers worldwide certification and testing services for products related to commercial property risk mitigation. Recognized and respected across the globe, FM Approvals certification assures customers that a product or service has been objectively tested and conforms to the highest standards. Architects, consulting engineers, plant managers and product buyers rely on FM Approvals to help them make well-informed decisions about which products and services on the market will best reduce property risk.

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