Updated flood maps could bring lower insurance rates

Dan Johnson, public works director of the city of Joplin, apprised the Joplin City Council of the map work at a meeting last week.

Johnson asked for council approval of a contract continuation with a local engineering firm, Allgeier Martin and Associates, so it could continue to assist the city with its stormwater sewer system permit and to assist through the remapping project. That firm also works with Jasper County on county mapping.

Charla Geller, emergency management director for Newton County, said work on the remapping in Newton County has started too.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency oversees a national mapping process every decade, Geller said. The difference this time is that drones were used to take images of the topography, which will allow for engineers to adjust for changes rather than relying on paper maps that were published in the 1940s and 1950s.

That means the new maps will be more accurate, Geller said, and could translate into lower flood insurance premiums for some property owners.

Johnson said the city and Allgeier's flood mapping work is one of the projects that will be done in conjunction with Allgeier's work to renew the city's permit to discharge water collected in the city's stormwater system.

While older cities in Missouri have combined storm and sanitary sewer systems, Joplin's stormwater collection system is separate from its sanitary sewer.

The permit for the stormwater system is issued under the National Pollutant and Discharge System, and it's part of the federal Clean Water Act, which is intended to reduce discharges into the nation's waters, Johnson said. Joplin first received the permit in 2004.

But the contract renewal also provides for engineering assistance for work that has to do with remapping tasks for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Joplin and other communities have been a part of the flood insurance program since the late 1970s. Since then, mapping flood plains has reduced the chances of homes and businesses getting flooded because it helped guide construction decisions and home placements to avoid areas that received heavy flooding.

Johnson said Missouri's remapping is paid for by FEMA.

Currently, flood maps for the region are from 2012. Remapping started in 2009 and finished in 2011.

Johnson said the goals of the new mapping process are to produce improved user-friendly maps. For instance, the digital maps will show the base flood level for a house with a click on a computer.

The process needs input of local officials because "we want accurate maps," Johnson said. "The staff needs input to get the best maps. Many hours will be spent by the staff on ensuring this process is followed to get best map" with the most accurate details.

A draft mapping process will allow local engineers and officials to see the maps in process and submit comments to be made on changes or additions to make the maps more accurate.

"The mapping is based on 2021 images, so anything that has changed since then we need to comment on what is different," Johnson said. For instance, a draft map for south Joplin "shows a floodway going down the middle of Range Line, so we need to comment and ask if a drain that was built under I-44 was included."

If not, it needs to be added to change the mapping so that it doesn't appear Range Line is heavily flooded.

Councilman Phil Stinnett said that a recent detention system built in the area on Arizona Avenue near 32nd Street should be helping the downstream flood plain, but that doesn't help flood insurance rates if a lower flood plain shows up in a new map.

"Anything the city has done (to reduce floods) should be helping downsteam homeowners with getting lower homeowner rates," he said.

Geller also said that the new maps could have an impact on flood insurance rates.

Johnson said that a city stormwater project at 25th Street and Davis Boulevard removed 18 structures from the flood plain, which should give each a reduction in insurance costs.

Engineers and government officials also need to check the maps to see that all recent underground detention projects are reflected in the maps to make them as accurate as possible, he added.

He said the need for the input means it will take some time before the maps will be finished.

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