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Show 1 New flood insurance rate maps adopted by Bountiful By PAUL CHALLIS News Editor BOUNTIFUL The City Council has adopted new flood insurance rate maps for Bountiful, as prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The new flood insurance rate maps have greatly reduced the number of homes located within federally designated flood-plain zones in the city. In some areas, however, homes have been added to the flood plain. The main reason of the reduction was from the multi-million multi-million dollar flood-prevention projects completed by Bountiful east of the city. These actions came after the disastrous floods in the south Davis County area in 1983. Debris basins with concrete-lined channels were installed to help catch the extra runoff from " 100-year rain storms" (a heavy downpour that experts say have 1 percent chance of happening during any given year). The city also studied the mud flows to help prevent future flooding in Bountiful. "The work accomplished has greatly reduced the flood-plain areas of the city and will be of great financial finan-cial benefit to many residents," City Engineer Jack Balling said. Some 42 homeowners cany insurance policies worth $3.6 million, for about 15 percent of the homeowners who live in the flood plain. The average premium is more than $290, Balling added. "Many residents will now receive lower flood in surance rates and some will no longer need flood insurance in-surance at all," Balling said. Under the new guidelines, up to 500 homes are no longer in the flood-plain areas along Stone Creek, Barton Bar-ton Creek, Mill Creek, Dry Hollow Creek No. 1 and North Canyon Creek. The northeast part of the city, along Dry Hollow Creek No. 2 and the North Fork Stone Creek, about 140 homes have been added to the flood-plain, as presented to the city by FEMA representative Doug Gore, from the Denver office. Gore praised Bountiful for its flood-control efforts and encouraged the city to maintain its debris basins and concrete -lined channels. "A significant reduction in the flood-plain has occurred oc-curred as a result of steps the city has taken. It doesn't mean mud flows and floods won't happen again," he added. Gore said that Bountiful is one of the success stories since the flood hazard areas first received protection from insurance through FEMA in 1968. "Bountiful was the first to join with FEMA in Utah in 1972 in a cooperative effort with the Army Corps of Engineers," Gore said. The maps are now available for public review for the next 30 days. Residents with questions on whether they are in a flood plain can call the city engineer's office at 298-6125 or come to the city hall to check the maps. They can also contact local insurance companies or mortgage companies. They may also call the Federal Insurance Administration at 1-800-638-6620 for more information. |
