For residents of the Capital District living near streams and rivers, the impact of Tropical Storm Irene was nothing short of massive. And for government officials who worry about flooding, it was a wake up call.
The official flood maps in Albany County are in the process of being redrawn. The majority of the maps were last drawn in the 1980s. It’s not unusual for flood maps to be old – in 2003, when a federal push for updated maps started, more than 70 percent of maps nationwide were at least a decade old.
Congress that year provided funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop and implement the MapMod program. The initiative creates countywide digital flood maps using more current data and allows for maps to go from paper to digital.
“This is a nationwide goal by FEMA. We realized that the flood maps were outdated. There have been a lot of new technologies coming out to determine new flood maps and better mapping,” said Senior Engineer at FEMA Region II Paul Weberg. Region II covers New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Flood maps lay out floodplain boundaries and identify where flooding is most likely to occur in storms of varying strengths. The boundaries of flood zones can have a major effect on homeowners because it can greatly influence the need for flood insurance and what rates it might be offered at.
Since the latest flood maps were drawn, Weberg said there has been “a lot of building” and new developments.
“With the newer technology some are added and some are taken out, which is what we find nationwide from (areas with rivers) … it is usually a balancing act where some are added and some are deleted,” Weberg said.
The appeals and comments period for the new Albany County maps opened in April and is ending July 2. Weberg suggested residents visit their local building inspector to review the preliminary maps in person. He said any comments should also be given to the building inspector to submit during the appeals period.
“I find people that look at the maps and see for themselves usually have a better piece of mind,” he said.
Information and data is also available on FEMA’s website detailing New York state’s mapping changes at www.rampp-team.com/ny.htm.
FEMA contracted with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to revise Albany County’s flood maps. The Spotlight made multiple inquiries to the DEC seeking information and comment on the revision process, but representatives did not return calls for comment or respond to written questions.
Local officials are keeping an eye on the process, however. Joseph Slezak, field manager of Albany County Soil & Water Conservation District, said the maps can be used to pinpoint areas needing flood mitigation. Once the maps are finalized, he said they would be analyzed closely.
“In general, every spot changed a little bit. The low lying flat areas have changed a little more,” Slezak said. “We are sort of learning about the changes ourselves right now.”
New Scotland Building Inspector Jeremy Cramer said the general areas within the flood maps are the same for that town, but the biggest difference is the new maps show the depth of areas.
“Showing the depth will help if something was to be built within the flood plain,” Cramer said. “I haven’t seen any concerns, I think they are pretty self explanatory. … The general flood prone areas remain the same.”
Town of Coeymans Building Inspector Laverne Conrad did have some concerns with the revised maps, but he agreed “nothing major” has changed. Conrad said areas along Coeymans Creek are being added to the flood map, but he has problems with an area along Route 9W near the Greene County border being added.
“We have a couple of properties in the commercial district that are going to be affected by it, but quite honestly that is a bogus flood plain,” Conrad said. “We have mentioned it to (FEMA) and said something is not right.”
There are “quite a bit” of flood plain areas in Coeymans, according to Conrad, and it is an ongoing issue for the town. Conrad said he constantly hears people complaining about the cost of flood insurance.
Cramer said on April 29 the DEC held a meeting detailing the latest changes. Albany County will be provided with flood risk products (database, report and map) and flood risk datasets including flood depth and analysis grids, flood risk assessments and areas of mitigation interest.
“From a building inspector’s point of view the flood plain maps indentify any areas where certain building can’t be built unless they are built up to a certain elevation,” Cramer said.
The latest “base maps” also include detailed road layout and community boundaries. New 100-year flood information is incorporated that was developed by determining the hydrology of nearby rivers or creeks and then calculating the hydraulics.
Cramer said homeowners would also know the percentage of a certain type of storm occurring and flooding their property, such as a 10-year storm, 20-year storm and other variations of severity.