Downtown Red Oak being added to floodplain map

 Federal officials and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are developing a statewide floodplain mapping project that will have a major impact on downtown Red Oak property owners. 

Montgomery County has been preliminarily mapped and began an appeals process March 10. Before the project began, Montgomery County never had a county-wide mapping plan and the last effective map for the  city of Red Oak is dated Jan. 3, 1990. 

“The reason we’re redoing maps is they’re old and outdated and we have a lot more information now,” said Scott Ralston, IDNR Floodplain Mapping Coordinator. 

To have more accurate data, the IDNR used Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDR, to scan terrain. This system uses laser light to measure distance and depth and is accurate within half-an-inch. Using this new and accurate data, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has drawn the preliminary maps of the floodplains. 

According to the latest studies and most current preliminary map, the most significant change from the 1990 map will be the inclusion of the Red Oak downtown area. 

For property owners in this area, the adoption of this map could require the purchase of flood insurance and possibly some difficulties with renovations or grants. 

Red Oak Mayor Bill Billings said the changes will effect those who want to buy or build a new building and the city’s ability to receive federal grants for future projects most. 

Billings said if city officials want to fund future projects in areas included in the flood zone, they will most likely have to find those funds through property taxes. 

The issue property owners face is flood insurance. If an owner within the mapped floodplain has mortgaged the property, flood insurance will be required. For those who own their buildings, the insurance is optional. 

Rick Taylor of Davis Taylor Insurance said he has not received the rates for the newly-mapped area. 

“Even though we have maps, I have no idea what rates are yet, because who does know?” Taylor said. “That part we don’t know yet. It’s all in the future.”

Flood insurance is run by the government, meaning agencies like Davis-Taylor will have no control over the rates or subsidies offered. 

“My understanding is we all have the same subsidy, whether somebody comes to me or somebody goes to my competitor or whereever, they all have the same subsidy,” Taylor said.

While he doesn’t know exact numbers, Taylor said the rate will depend on what an owner wants covered. 

“It depends on what the property owner wants to insure that property for,” Taylor said. “Do they want to insure it for the amount of their loan? Do they want to insure it for replacement costs?”

FEMA does have a National Flood Insurance Program that, according to Ralston, “provides subsidies for the purchase of flood insurance, which results in lower premiums, compared to insurance purchased on the open market.”

Areas that have already received grants for revitalization, such as downtown, could possibly have an alternative analysis process for those properties. 

Ralston said these new maps may not financially benefit property owners; however, with precise scientific studies, there is an awareness that certain areas could be in trouble if a flood did occur. 

“Regardless of whether this helps them or hurts them, it’s based on accurate, scientific information as far as the elevation of the ground,” he said. 

The last study conducted in Red Oak for this information took place in 1978. When this study was done, the data was accurate within five feet. 

“The revised [preliminary maps] are based on very accurate ground elevation data and therefore, more accurately depict the risks associated with one percent annual chance flood,” Ralston said.

Property owners have the ability to appeal these maps if they believe they are inaccurate. Red Oak’s appeal process began March 10 and will be open for 90 days. 

To appeal, a property owner must provide correct, engineering data that proves a property does not meet the requirements to be in the floodplain. 

If no appeals are accepted and the map does not need to change, the map goes into effect Feb. 16, 2016. 

For further questions or concerns, contact Ralston of the IDNR at (515) 725-8321 or at scott.ralston@dnr.iowa.gov.