I've heard of flood plains but how about Zone AE? The Blackwater River may be at 3200ft in Davis but its feeders start on Dolly Sods and Canaan Mountain, and every 100 years (FEMA says) there is a flood that will go to certain Base Flood Elevation (BSE) in Davis. This BSE line is the 100 year flood line and anything inside that is Zone AE, the area inundated by flood to that determined elevation. I am paying surveyors to make sure of where that line really is, since of course the FEMA maps are not accurate. The lower dashed line at left represents the approximate BFE line on part of Riverwalk. After surveying we know EXACTLY where the Base Flood Elevation line is. What happens if a house is built inside the BSE line? Well, it might be against code or zoning if there were any, but it most certainly would require flood insurance underwritten by the US Govt National Flood Insurance Program. A little guesswork would put the cost of insuring a townhouse built inside the flood line at about $1,000 per year plus or minus a few hundred $. Such houses would be built on slightly elevated foundations such that the living spaces were all above the BFE, but there would still be a flood insurance requirement. We may reserve a few lots inside the BFE but we probably will not build any homes inside the floodline unless specific buyers wish to be riverside despite the added insurance cost. Any thoughts on this?
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1 comment:
Pete,
Good to know that you are wise enough to a) reevaluate FEMA's maps and b) repsect the 100 year flood line! As I am taking a basic environmental geoscience class here in Morgantown, my teacher enjoys slamming federal agencies (like FEMA and USACE) and also opens (or tries to open) our eyes to the ignorance and costliness of building something in the wrong place. A little research up front goes a long way. Thumbs up! See you at the snowflake fest.
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