By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
Draft floodplain maps for the City of Olean issued last month by the Federal Emergency Management Agency show wide swaths of the city in a 100-year floodplain.
Where there are 170 homes and other buildings within the current floodplain boundaries, 20 times more structures are located in the draft floodplain — including parts of Downtown Olean north of the railroad tracks.
Residential streets on both sides of West State Street from the dikes to three blocks north of the West State corridor would also be in a floodplain.
Portville, Hinsdale and Allegany would be in similar situations, with hundreds of residents who suddenly find themselves in a possible floodplain required to have flood insurance.
Last month, representatives from the New York City FEMA office met with Cattaraugus County municipal officials to discuss proposed new floodplain maps.
The new floodplain maps were developed with different technology than the ones approved more than 20 years ago that form the basis for current flood insurance rates and management of development in the floodplain.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency maps Special Flood Hazard Areas for each participating community.
In the Cattaraugus County report for the city of Olean, FEMA found where the current SFHA contains 170 structures, the draft shows 3,430 homes, businesses, garages, sheds and other out buildings — 20 times the number of existing structures. It represents half the new structures in Special Flood Hazard Areas in the county.
The reason, according to Brad Camp, Olean Water and Sewer director, is because FEMA did not include the protection provided by the Olean dike system because it has not yet been recertified.
“The maps they (FEMA) are reporting are accurate,” Camp said in a recent interview with the Olean Star. “The old maps took the levee system into consideration. It needs to be accredited by FEMA. We’re working with a firm on that now. They were at the (FEMA) meeting.”
Camp said there is a lot of concern with the draft report because of how many homes and businesses would be impacted — more than 3,200 — and likely be required to have flood insurance if they have a mortgage. “Once the new maps are accredited, it will reflect the levees.”
The draft map reflects “what a flood would look like without the dikes,” Camp said. “Right now, we’re in a process of collecting data. We’re in a good spot. We’re a little ahead.” Preliminary indications are that the west bank of the Allegheny River “looks good,” but the east bank didn’t score as high with FEMA.
Across Cattaraugus County, there are currently 3,145 homes and businesses located in designated special flood hazard areas. Under the draft report, that number more than triples to 10,145. That is a countywide increase of 7,030.
Portville Mayor Anthony Evans, who attended the May 15 FEMA meeting in Little Valley, said much of the village — including the site of its proposed new wastewater treatment plant — is in a floodplain in the draft report.
Across Cattaraugus County, there are currently 3,145 homes and businesses located in designated special flood hazard areas. Under the draft report, that number more than triples to 10,145. That is a countywide increase of 7,030.
“It doesn’t take the levies into consideration,” Evans said. “These new maps will really affect Portville.”
The village would go from five structures in the SFHA
The new wastewater treatment plant, which Evans and the village have been trying to replace for years, could end up 15 feet underwater. The state Department of Conservation would have to change construction specifications, he said.
“It was like a bombshell went off in the room” as the FEMA representatives outlined draft maps starting with Olean, Evans said. “This is not good for Portville.”
In the village of Portville, there are currently five homes in a special flood hazard area. In the draft report, that number goes to 390 in the village. In the town, the number of homes in a floodplain would go from 330 to 550.
And in the Allegany, the village would not see an increase in the 140 structures currently in the floodplain. In the town, however, it would double from the 280 structures currently in the floodplain to 560 structures.
While the municipalities have received a 30-day extension in order to provide additional data to FEMA through the county, Evans said, “We’ve got to do this together if we are going to be successful.”
The draft maps remove about 40% of the village’s developable property. “It did not take levy accreditation into account,” Evans said. “Who pays for it?”
Cattaraugus County Administrator Jack Searles, who also attended the FEMA meeting, said FEMA is going through a very regimented process by presenting municipalities the updated draft maps, then seeking comment. The county received a 30-day extension in the comment period to July 15, he said.
Searles deputy, Kelly Reed, who will become county administrator when Searles retires at the end of the month, said the county is acting as a conduit for the municipalities to provide data to FEMA.
The county, Reed said, has also reached out to other municipalities that will be impacted by new FEMA floodplain maps that did not attend the meeting. She will be leading the county’s response. “We are working as a group,” she added.
Engineers in FEMA regional headquarters in New York City are already reviewing some of the large amounts of data municipalities have funneled to the county, Reed said.
“We’re working closely with Soil and Water on this,” Reed said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Agriculture are also providing information to the municipalities, as is the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The county wants to be sure FEMA has the most up-to-date data, Reed said That includes several dams in the Ischua and Conewango creeks watershed protection areas.
The floodplain maps were made using LiDAR, a map-making tool that uses a laser to detect light and measure to within a 4-inch radius. It can penetrate forest cover and water to record accurate channel capacity. Older maps were generated from topographical maps.
Updated hydraulics analysis was also used from streams with gauges to measure the flow in real time. Updates data on heavy rain events are also considered.
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
