Open houses will be held in the county next week. FEMA staff will be available to answer questions, copies of property specific maps can be requested. Online, similar resources can be accessed virtually: bit.ly/wascostorymap
Current flood insurance rate maps for Wasco County and City of The Dalles, released in 1984, have been updated and are being made available for public comment and input, according to Ted Perkins of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which creates the maps nationwide.
“Risk has change over time, and there are a lot better ways now to assess that risk,” Perkins told the Wasco County Board of Commissioners during their May 17 meeting. “There is a lot more data available on the rivers in your communities, that has accumulated over time,” he explained.
The updated flood insurance rate maps cover the entire county, alongside a written study report documenting the process taken and data used. Flood risk is assessed stream-by-stream, with streams in higher population areas given more detailed study than those in sparely populated areas. County wide, eight waterways were considered in detail, and the Columbia River and four lakes.
In areas not covered in detail, new mapping aerial mapping techniques that precisely capture ground elevations from above were incorporated into the study. These included 321 miles of various streams in the county.
The flood maps are used to identify flood risk, establish rates for flood insurance, determine local land use, inform engineers and developers and in emergency management planning. Federal flood insurance is made available in communities where risk is mapped and community planners adopt minimal standards to address the risks identified in the maps, Perkins said.
New, preliminary flood maps are digital and can now be reviewed by the public for comment and review.
Because of the outdated nature of prior maps, some properties have been removed — and some added — to the special flood hazard areas identified in the county.
In unincorporated areas of the county, 458 structures have been added to the “Special Flood hazard Areas” and 275 structure have being removed. Those numbers are likely inflated, Perkins noted, because structures were not identified as to use. “We wanted to be sure to include anyone who might be impacted, so they know to ask the questions they need to ask in order to understand how changes will impact them.”
Mortgaged properties being added to risk areas will be required to have flood insurance, but what that looks like can vary greatly over the county. “Flood insurance is very site-specific,” Perkins explained. The type of structure and precise location all needs to be factored in, so contacting a FEMA insurance specialist during an open house or online is the best way to get an idea how you will be impacted, he said.
Following initial outreach (see info box, this story), a 90-day appeal period will open to allow people a chance to respond to issues and seek adjustments or fix mistakes.
“We want these maps to be accurate. As you can see, we don’t come around very often so we want to make sure when we do that we get it right,” Perkins said.
Input and data will be checked over the following months, and final maps and studies are anticipated in 2024, at which time local governments will adopt the official, effective maps.
Wasco County Board of Commissioners agreed to vacate a portion Tygh Ridge Road east of Dufur incorrectly identified as to location by a mapping error years ago when the road was reconstructed and old road was not automatically vacated, as it was supposed to be. “This puts former road back into private ownership on the maps," explained Arthur Smith, public works director and road master. “It’s hard to tell where the original road was, but I was not required to identify the exact location. There are some utilities poles in the vacated section, but there is additional agreement for those."
The fix is one of number made in recent meetings as the county seeks to clear up errors between “public” and private lands as found on current Wasco County digital maps. “It’s been going on for quite a long time, but people are currently looking for public areas now, to perhaps camp or dump stuff or to recreate in, and I think it would be a very good move to get these fixed,” Smith noted.
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