Flood area mapping proposal approved
Launch the media gallery 1 playerIn a move that could favorably affect property currently in the flood plain, the Crete City Council approved a mapping proposal by Olsson Associates at the first regular meeting of 2019 (Jan. 2).
City Administrator Tom Ourada said this complex proposal he and Mayor Roger Foster have been working on for a number of years involving a lake project has provided cause for a flood plain review of Crete using more inclusive data. Information indicates flood data used for past calculations is outdated and more current flow data may reflect more favorably, in that less water could be coming into the flood plain with a lower impact than previously thought.
This newest proposal would ideally move toward a further, two-part study of Crete’s flood area, the first phase of which could cost about $10,000. If sufficient benefit is found to move forward, the study’s second phase would include remapping Crete’s flood area and the potential for property, including housing, to be removed from the city’s flood plain and other properties from the flood way. A phase two remapping would cost an estimated $40,000.
If properties are removed from the flood way or flood plain, it could open them up to potential for improvements and decreased insurance costs. In recent years, Crete had other areas, including parts of downtown, removed from the flood plain by a FEMA study to update the flood area.
The flood way is the channel or area closest to the river or watercourse reserved to efficiently carry flood waters and has the highest chance of flooding. Construction is severely restricted in a flood way. The flood plain is low-lying ground adjacent to the river with certain building and improvement regulations as well as insurance requirements. (View City Code or Building and Zoning information)
No specific timeline as been set for this newest proposal or potential future study.