Public invited to inspect new FEMA flood maps

July 20--FAIRFIELD -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency has redrawn its flood plain maps, showing that Fairfield on the whole has fewer homes prone to flooding than in years past.

Over the past decade, FEMA has embarked on a nationwide effort to update and modernize its flood hazard maps. The agency incorporated studies but did not do any additional modeling as part of their map modernization, said Dave Butsch, the city's director of public works. The Butler County map was adopted in December 2010.

This is particularly impactful for the city, which saw considerable controversy after the so-called "Father's Day flood" in 2003, city officials said.

"What it does is ensure safety for property and individuals. People kind of know where their properties are located and where they are in relation to the flood areas and things so they can make informed decisions," Butsch said.

To that end, there will be a Flood Risk Information Open House from 4 to 7 p.m.July 23 at the Butler County Government Services Center in Hamilton. Residents will be able to view the new maps there and find out more information about flood insurance rates.

Fairfield's efforts included performing map modeling on some of the areas prone to flooding, such as the Pleasant Run Creek, and what is known as the "GM ditch" near the former Fisher Body plant. The city also surveyed more than 700 properties to determine their eligibility for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). According to the FEMA website, LOMAs are usually issued because a property has been inadvertently mapped as being in the floodplain, but is actually on natural high ground above the base flood elevation.

Now, FEMA, Butler County and the Miami Conservancy District have remapped the majority of the Great Miami River to obtain new flood data.

In the prior FEMA map, drawn around 1979, some 1,170 structures in Fairfield were in the high-risk areas of the map. After the map was redrawn, 564 structures dropped out of the high-risk area, while 606 remained, said City Engineer Ben Mann. From there, the city found that about 150 of those structures were eligible for LOMAs, leaving 420 in the high-risk areas.

One area that went through a considerable map revision was in the area of Resor Road and Gilmore Drive, where the flood plain widened because of a creek that runs through there.

"I used to live on Resor Road ... the topography of the creek is well below street level. It's got to be at least 20 feet down from where the houses are. It's really a deep gouge down there," said Councilman Mike Snyder.

Butsch said, "The people it will be difficult to explain to are on the other side of Planet Drive, across the street. They're getting affected by a creek that's behind their neighbor's house on the other side that they may not have paid much attention to."

One of the more favorable results of the project is that FEMA's flood map now shows that the Meijer on Kolb Drive is no longer in the flood plain. When the store was constructed, the stream near there was re-routed, but the map never reflected the update, until now. The old map's flood plain ran directly through the store.

"Every year, people would ask, 'Why do you have stream running through your Meijer?' We don't think we do, and now they (FEMA) don't think we do either," Mann said.

Homeowners who are in the redrawn affected areas have been notified by FEMA and are invited to attend the open house on Wednesday. There will be a 90-day appeals period from September to November, then FEMA will release its final revisions in the spring of 2015. The LOMAs will be checked for validation in the fall

Federally-backed mortgages are required to have flood insurance if the property is in a high-risk area. For other lenders, flood insurance is optional. Current flood rates have been $800 to $1,000 per year for every $100,000 of home replacement value. Flood rates are expected to increase significantly after 2016, Butsch said.

The Father's Day flood of 2003 affected homes in the Pleasant Run Creek basin area. Through more than $3 million in state and federal grants, the city was able to buy and tear down the homes, converting the land to open space.

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