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New floodplain maps help property purchases
Besides being the Vernon County Clerk, Mike Buehler is also the county’s Floodplain Administrator. During a Dec. 27 interview he unrolled a recently obtained series of “review maps” showing updated floodplain information across the county.
“Yeah, I know that sounds pretty obscure but getting them has already helped several families to purchase land and homes which they probably wouldn’t have using the old one,” said Buehler.
He believes the old map – which is the only one he knows of and dates from around 1973 – was a single map of the entire county and did not have nearly the level of detail and specificity.
“NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) was created in 1968 and besides obviously providing flood insurance they’re also tasked with improving flood plain management and developing maps of flood plains,” explained Buehler. “That last part they do in conjunction with SEMA (Missouri State Emergency Management Agency).
SEMA, which is part of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, is attempting to provide new maps for each county which provide both greater accuracy and detail.
While new technology enables the detail and accuracy, the state’s limited funding for this means only a handful of Missouri’s 114 counties are done each year.
“As I said, the new maps I’ve got are not official; they sent them for me to review and see if I notice any discrepancies,” said the county’s Floodplain Administrator.
He has yet to locate any errors but he did notice that instead of receiving a single county map he received a series of large maps which provide not only greater detail but he believes are far more accurate.
He said, “I wasn’t around when the old map was put together but it looks like they erred on the side of caution and have pretty broad flood plains for all our rivers and creeks.”
The review maps note both 100 and 500-year floodplains but Buehler said rivers and creeks have some noticeably smaller areas labelled as floodplain.
While there was significant local flooding in Nevada and parts of Vernon County in 2008, Vernon County’s Payroll Clerk Pat Renwick recalled previous floods saying, “The 1993 flood was big across a large part of the midwest but it was the one in 1986 which had the biggest impact on this area.”
Not only was there there water across the interstate highway but so many areas of the county were cut off with access only being by boat. But he quickly added how overall, this county has been blessed with fewer problems with flooding compared to other parts of the country.
Buehler receives a number of inquiries each year about whether a house or piece of property is in a floodplain and thus requires flood insurance.
“Nearly all homeowner insurance plans don’t cover floods, for that you need to take out flood insurance,” explained Buehler. “That can run into some money plus some lenders don’t like to lend for property and especially on a house in a floodplain.”
While the new maps are not yet official, he has been able to use them as a guide to whether a location is in a floodplain or not. If the new maps show the property or house may not be in the floodplain, he then goes out to the site and uses equipment to “shoot” (determine) the elevations and location in relation to the nearest body of water and then can issue a statement.
He has already been able to help several families have a purchase go through because he was able to show the property in question was not in the floodplain.
“On one occasion, I used a global positioning satellite locator and determined the home was 30-feet above the floodplain and not much later, when I received these new maps I found I was within two-inches of my measurements,” said Buehler.
He said best of all, the family obtained their loan, did not need to take out flood insurance and so the whole deal went through, not only saving them a good deal of money but also they gained some peace of mind knowing they are not living in a floodplain.
With a chuckle he added, “I’ve also warned others not to buy because with not too much rain their property’d be under water which is why, I pointed out, nobody’s ever built out there.”
And yes, said the county’s floodplain administrator, there are existing houses in areas designated as floodplains but he noted, to his knowledge, no new ones have been constructed since he became floodplain administrator in 2016.
He said people who are from around here often know there are some areas which are susceptible to flooding and so construction there should be avoided. Beginning with the Four Rivers and Schell-Osage Conservation Areas he also spoke of Horton bottoms.
“I’m a floodplain administrator, not a floodplain manager; that takes a lot of years of study and testing to earn that designation,” said Buehler. “And while all this can be interesting, to be a floodplain manager takes a lot more math and science than what I’d ever need to have.”
Buehler described how floodplains involve more than the elevation of the land.
“One class I had used the comparison of what a beaver does,” began Buehler. “A few sticks or a single tree limb can form a dam and a two-inch restriction in flow can cause a sudden rise in the water level or change the drainage pattern which can cause a lot of problems downstream.”
He went on to speak of natural drainage and run-off areas, flow studies as well as soil types and susceptibility to saturation. Besides the damage caused by flooding, he spoke of the power of moving water which can cause erosion and damage to homes and property.
“There’ve been times when our county road and bridge crew has wanted to change a ditch or channel and I said absolutely not because of a number of possible unintended consequences during heavy rains or flooding,” said Buehler.
Saying he has to sign-off off on each county project which involves water or construction in a designated floodplain, he mentioned how even a change in bridge pylons and supports has to be carefully considered.
“I’m hoping these maps will be finalized sometime in 2019 but folks can call me if they have any questions; I’m here to help,” said Buehler.
Between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, Vernon County’s Floodplain Administrator may be reached by calling (417) 448-2500 and asking for Mike Buehler.