SanCap Resilience will present its next community forum, “Flood Protection for Your Home or Business: Talk and Expo” on Friday, March 20, from 5-8 p.m. at the Sanibel Community House.

This special event will explore the limits and opportunities of flood mitigation in the face of storms and storm surge. Attendees will hear practical perspectives and strategies from a nationally recognized floodplain consultant and meet local contractors in an on-site expo.

“In the recent SanCap Resilience community survey, 60 percent of the more than 900 respondents said they wanted to learn more about how to reduce flood damage and make clean up easier,” according to Bob Moore, chair of the SanCap Resilience steering committee. “After our recent program addressing storm surge mitigation on a large scale, we also heard from many people that they were hoping to get practical strategies for their own home or business. So we’re pleased to be able to bring this event to the community.”

The program is free, but registration is required.

This event will include an in-depth conversation, including audience Q&A, with expert floodplain consultant, Del Schwalls, PE, CFM, along with an expo of local vendors that sell flood mitigation products and services.

Plus, residents on Sanibel or Captiva who register will have the opportunity to enter their name into a drawing for a free, 1-hour custom consult for their home with Schwalls on the day after the presentation, Saturday, March 21. (His consult is valued at $300. *see below)

Schedule:

5:00-5:30 pm    Vendor expo open

5:30-7:00 pm    Interview with expert floodplain consultant, Del Schwalls, with audience Q&A

7:00-8:00 pm    Vendor expo open

The presenter for this program, Del Schwalls, is President of Schwalls Consulting LLC and an environmental engineer with 25 years of experience in floodplain management and water resources. He provides engineering and floodplain management solutions for local municipalities, state and federal agencies, and private entities.

His background also includes personal experience with storm impacts having directly experienced Hurricane Michael in 2018 and provided support to the recovery effort on Mexico Beach, FL. 

The vendor expo will include the following companies:

• SECUR – Flex Seal Family of Products
• Floodproofing.com
• Florida Flood Protection
• Storm Smart
• Shoreline Lumber
• Benchmark General Contractors

* A total of four (4) 1-hour custom home consults will be awarded. Only residents on Sanibel or Captiva are eligible to win. The consults will occur on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Please do not enter the raffle unless you are able to be present for a consult on March 21. Winners will be selected at random based on the different home types entered. The goal is to select homes that are representative of other homes on the islands, so when they are written up as case studies, they will benefit as many people as possible. Winners must agree to have their consult written up as a case study. Names and addresses will not be included in the case studies, but we would like permission to include photos of your home. SanCap Resilience reserves the right to use administrative discretion in final home selections. These free consults are made possible by our generous program sponsors.

SCCF is one of 15 partner organizations of SanCap Resilience, which was formed following Hurricane Ian as a citizen-based initiative to protect and strengthen our unique barrier island communities.

Learn more about SanCap Reslience>>>