Do you need flood insurance? Easy, just look at a flood map, and it will tell you. That’s what most homeowners in Nashville, NC, believe. But flood risk isn’t always determined by what you see. In a lot of cases, it’s determined by what you can’t see, including what’s buried underground.

At Hedgepeth-Hutson Insurance Services Inc., we often have to reset how people think about flood insurance. Rivers, creeks, and ponds get all the attention. But drainage infrastructure, like storm drains, culverts, and retention systems, often plays a bigger role in whether water will end up in your home.

The Systems You Don’t See Control the Water You Do

In heavily developed areas, the water doesn’t just soak into the ground after a heavy rain. It’s routed. Curbs funnel it. Grates collect it. Pipes move it somewhere else. All of that is drainage infrastructure doing its job, until it can’t.

The problems start when those systems are undersized, blocked, or overwhelmed. Water backs up fast. And when it does, it doesn’t care whether a property is in a flood zone or miles from open water.

Flood insurance models account for this because infrastructure failure can create flooding that looks sudden and confusing to homeowners.

Why Pooling Often Isn’t About Rainfall

The most common assumption is that flooding means “too much rain.” But in reality, it means water had nowhere to go. Drainage design determines flow paths across entire neighborhoods. And one clogged or overloaded section can redirect water toward properties that have never flooded before.

When Your Infrastructure Changes, Your Risk Changes

Drainage systems don’t stay static, either; they evolve over time. New development adds runoff. Older systems age. Maintenance varies. Flood exposure can increase without a single storm being worse than the last.

At Hedgepeth-Hutson Insurance Services Inc., we help Nashville, NC, homeowners look beyond visible water and understand how drainage infrastructure drives their flood risk. Call us. We’re here to help.