Flood Insurance Rules Revamped

New flood plain maps will be released today, relieving all property owners along the Santa Ana River from Garfield to Slater avenues from mandatory flood insurance, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) announced Tuesday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which had required flood insurance for property within the flood plain, has determined that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 12-year, $1.3-billion Santa Ana River flood control project has eliminated the threat of a 100-year flood in the area. Not only are property owners there free of the need to buy flood insurance, but they are entitled to a refund of the balance of their premiums, which range from $300 to $500 a year, officials said.

The flood control system of dam and channel work was completed in December 1999, but FEMA engineers still had to check to see whether the county’s storm channels would work effectively with the river upgrades. Property not affected by the county’s storm channel system was released from the insurance requirement last year.

Engineers are still analyzing an area in Huntington Beach south of Garfield Avenue to see how the county storm system will work with the river upgrades there. Some of the county’s storm channels have earthen berms that may not withstand a severe flood, said Kathleen Hollingsworth, Rohrabacher’s district director. A map for that area is expected to be completed within a couple of months.

Fountain Valley flood plain maps will be available for public viewing starting Thursday at Rohrabacher’s Huntington Beach office, 101 Main St., Suite 3-C., or at Fountain Valley City Hall, 10200 Slater Ave. Letters of Map Revision are also available at those locations for property owners to submit to their insurance agents. For information, call Rohrabacher’s office at (714) 960-6483.