Just one month after deadly Texas floods claimed more than 130 lives, officials in Fulton County have created new, digital flood maps.
Fulton County’s current flood maps were drawn up in the 1980s. Now the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation have helped county officials re-establish floodplains in the county.
Fulton County Director of Emergency Management Steven Santa Maria says after four decades the updates are welcomed.
“Things have changed a little bit. Weather patterns have certainly changed. There’s been development along the waterways and whatnot. But with climate change and the increased severity of storms and whatnot it was way overdue to get these maps updated,” said Santa Maria.
Santa Maria says while Fulton county doesn’t have major waterways, climate change has impacted how quickly flooding can occur, making it all the more important to update both the maps and the ways they are accessed – the county’s flood maps will now be digitized.
“We don’t really have a major river like Montgomery County or Herkimer County. But we do have a lot of streams, tributaries, dams, along those lines, 44 lakes, all that have the potential for causing us a lot of enjoyment, but also could cause us some headaches. So, we’re taking a look at how the water, the land is going to react when we receive a substantial amount of rain or things along those lines, rapid snowmelt in the spring. Having that guidance of where we can expect flooding and maybe where we shouldn’t develop. Maybe areas with mitigation efforts could be developed,” said Santa Maria.
With new maps, some residents may need to purchase flood insurance for the first time – FEMA, DEC, and Fulton County officials will be on hand presenting the new maps and answering flood insurance questions Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Fulton-Montgomery Community College.
“The flood maps are used for flood insurance ratings and stuff like that and it also helps us identify areas where we may need to do some mitigation efforts. If we see areas that are in the flood plain, things that we can deal with to make our communities more resilient, safer,” said Santa Maria.
Santa Maria adds that public engagement with the new maps will be vital to their successful implementation.
“So, really, these maps are preliminary maps. They’ve been sent out to the jurisdictions in the county for review. This is their opportunity to ask questions about the map and ‘hey why has this changed,’ or ‘what about this area?’ Nobody knows their district better than the people who live there right? So, this is a good opportunity for them to have some input and to say, ‘hey it always floods down on Jones Road and how come I’m not seeing anything about that?’” said Santa Maria.
Santa Maria says updated maps also means communities can better plan future developments.
“We can take a look at culvert sizes and bridges that go over waterways and start thinking about that for our future development. If we’re looking at culvert replacements in the towns, if we go with a larger sized culvert how will that impact floodplains will it make it better or will it make it worse? So, there’s options out there that now that we have a better understanding you may be able to come up with a better plan to make some of these communities more resilient as they plan for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years down the road,” said Santa Maria.
