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Homeowners fear costs of new floodplain status
Butler County officials estimate that 2,000 property owners may have increased risk, and just as many likely have a decreased risk.
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By Josh Sweigart,
Staff Writer
Updated 1:42 AM Friday, July 10, 2009
HAMILTON — Chris Ferguson was one of hundreds of Fairfield residents surprised to learn that officials expect a levy right by his house to do nothing to protect him from a major flood.
The levy was considered capable of holding back flood waters the last time the area’s floodplain map was revised in 1979.
But on the draft map unveiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday, July 9, his house is under water.
This means he now needs flood insurance by law, and it likely will make it harder to sell his house.
“My neighbor has been here 37 years, he’s never had any flooding from the river,” he said. “I can’t fathom logically how it can reach my house, but apparently the banks and FEMA can.”
Fairfield City Engineer Benjamin Mann said two levies there were privately built and don’t meet federal requirements, and it’s not feasible to rebuild them.
Butler County officials estimate that more than 2,000 property owners across the county may have an increased flood insurance risk according to the new map. But just as many may have a decreased risk.
Officials from Hamilton and Middletown said few properties in both jurisdictions were affected.
The floodplains didn’t move, but the lines on the map did, because they reflect more accurate geographical data than their decades-old predecessors, according to FEMA representative John Devine.
This could be an expensive change for some residents, and a blessing for others, as residents who have flood insurance say it routinely costs $1,000 a year.
At the open house in Hamilton where the maps were displayed Thursday, Devine fielded different variations of Ferguson’s question: If my house hasn’t flooded in decades, why do I need flood insurance?
The answer: Because they’re lucky, according to John Devine, Federal Emergency Managment Agency natural hazards program specialist.
Anyone in a 100-year floodplain — meaning they are required by law to carry flood insurance if they have a federally backed loan — has a 24 percent chance the property will flood over a 30-year mortgage, Devine said.
The new maps added thousands of people to projected floodplains, and possibly took just as many out.
Jonathan Sorg, environmental specialist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, advised homeowners to not wait until their bank calls them to get flood insurance if their home was added to the floodplain.
The average cost in Ohio for flood insurance in a floodplain is $800, Sorg said. But people can buy it now at one-third the cost, and they’ll be grandfathered in when the new maps become effective in roughly a year.
Thursday wasn’t all about bad news. Much of Dave and Ginny Williams’ subdivision in Fairfield Twp. is now considered high and dry.
Only their garage is in the floodplain now, instead of their whole house. If a surveyor finds the garage is out of the floodplain, they could save $1,000 a year on insurance.
“We’ve lived there 23 years, and it hasn’t come close to flooding yet,” Ginny Williams said.
Residents who are no longer legally required to have flood insurance may have to find that information out themselves.
“There is no law requiring the banks to come to them and say ‘Hey, you don’t need flood insurance,’ ” Sorg said.
Officials caution homeowners to not rush to cancel flood insurance coverage; a 500-year floodplain still has a chance of flooding.
Residents who couldn’t attend Thursday’s open house may contact their local jurisdiction to find out whether their property is affected.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.
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