Lincoln County benefits from detailed flood risk map project

Sept. 23--Maps showing hazards in flood zones will help officials come up with mitigation plans to remove or reduce those risks, Lincoln County's planning director told county commissioners recently.

Curt Temple said he met a week ago at the county suboffice in Ruidoso for a Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning Program session that is a collaboration between staff of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security, the Earth Data Analysis Center of the University of New Mexico and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"(The cooperating technical partners) are going to partner with the different watershed communities," he said. "It's a pretty big area. The Rio Hondo drainage starts in the upper Bonito and goes all way down to Roswell. The goal is to identify hazards in the river flood areas and help provide mitigation plans to take care of those areas and the infrastructure involved, such as homes and low water crossings."

The RiskMAP program's vision is to provide quality data that increases public awareness and leads to action that reduces risk to life and property, according to information from the Earth Data Analysis Center. The partners will prioritize flood related data needs throughout the state. The nmflood.org website provides interactive maps, current flood related news and links to online flooding tools.

Temple said the Earth Data Analysis Center will use Lidar, a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating targets with a laser and analyzing the reflected light, to prepare more detailed maps and topography in areas already approved, such as the one including Lincoln County. Lidar is popular for use in high resolution mapping.

"They're trying to get funding to do the entire state," he said. "They have enough for our area."

Temple said he will consult with County Road Superintendent Carl Palmer about where infrastructure washes out. The data center will include them in detail on the maps and officials with FEMA will look at the situation and decide if that agency needs to fund a mitigation remedy.

"We're ahead of the curve, because we have a FEMA mitigation plan and that's why we have been able to get money for tree thinning and other projects," Temple said. "Our plan is approved by FEMA. Other communities can't get money without a plan."

Commissioner Preston Stone asked if once all the information is available, insurance premiums of people living within the flood plan or tributary watershed would be affected.

Temple said they would not, because they already are listed in a flood plain for insurance rating purposes. However, someone who wants to change the designation may be helped, he said.

"The maps we received were not good, because in 2011, the contractor (for FEMA) was constrained by money," Temple said. "They couldn't go in and do the detail stuff EDAC is going to do. This won't redo our maps, but it will update data, if someone wants a FEMA review later." People now must pay a surveyor to perform a map amendment, because a more detailed examination is needed for a particular portion and that costs money, he said

"The lack of detail makes it harder for people to know if they are in a flood plain or not," Temple said. "The only place where there are details is along the Rio Bonito, the Rio Ruidoso and the Rio Hondo only areas, and Salado Creek about a quarter mile outside Capitan."

He emphasized that EDAC and the maps will provide data, but won't interpret. It's up to FEMA or the county how to use the information, Temple said. Mitigation project costs usually are split 75 percent federal dollars for 25 percent local, he said.

Commission Chairman Jackie Powell said the bridge at Alamo Canyon and one in Glencoe that is too narrow to accommodate fire-fighting equipment might be candidates, as well as a bridge at the county fairground in Capitan. Temple reminded her that the fairground bridge is not a public road and that classification would have to change to fall under the mitigation program.

In a related issue, commissioners decided to table until after the first of the year the effort of the county Planning Commission to draft a land development ordinance as an alternative to county zoning. Powell said with three new commissioners taking office, the planning commission would be able to function better with direction coming from a board with the new members.

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