By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

If they don’t act soon, some residents of Logandale could be faced with as much as $1,700 per year in mandatory flood insurance expenses for their home. Revisions to the federal flood hazard map which will be completed in November are expected to put about 200 Logandale homes in a newly designated flood zone.

Officials from the Clark County Regional Flood Control District (CCRFCD) are encouraging homeowners affected by the change to purchase flood insurance early in order to lock in lower rates.

“People don’t have to buy flood insurance until the maps officially change in November,” said CCRFCD Assistant Manager Kevin Eubanks at an open house for affected homeowners held on Tuesday, May 24 in Overton. “But we believe that it is in their best interest to purchase flood insurance now. First of all it will protect their homes as we enter the flood season. The flood danger is already there. And secondly they may be able to take advantage of locking in lower premiums before the map change.”

This is especially true for homes built prior to September of 1989, Eubanks said. That date was when the previous federal flood map for the area went into effect.

If flood insurance is purchased before the November deadline, an owner of a pre-1989 built home could lock in the previous rate for an additional two years, Eubanks said. For a home valued at $250,000, that rate would be as low as $350 annually. The homeowner would then enjoy that low rate for an additional two years before it would be adjusted to the conditions of the new map which will raise the cost to $930 per year, Eubanks said.

Owners of homes built after 1989 may also benefit from acting ahead of the deadline. If insurance is purchased before the map change is effective, owners of newer homes will lock in the $930 annual rate. But if the homeowner waits until after the new map is finalized in November that cost could jump as high as $1,700 per year.

“This is something that we are working really hard to get information out to the affected homeowners to let them know what their options are,” Eubanks said.

The cause of the map change is an earthen levee located on the east bank of the Muddy River channel just below the Wells Siding diversion dam. By most accounts, this levee was originaly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. It was meant to hold back flood waters at the location of a slight bend in the channel.

After Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began conducting a thorough review of all of the nation’s levees. In the process of that review, it was determined that the levee in Logandale did not meet the federal requirements for such a structure.

“We were not able to certify the levee,” Eubanks said. “And we were told that if it could not be certified then the map would have to be revised as if the existing levee wasn’t even there.”

Improvement on the levee to bring it into compliance with federal standards has been included on the CCRFCD master plan for the area, Eubanks said.

“We are currently in design to replace the levee to FEMA standards,” Eubanks said.

Construction funding is expected to be identified in the next three years, Eubanks added. But the project still must face the significant hurdles of procuring rights of way and environmental permits, Eubanks said.

The project is estimated to cost around $3 million, according to CCRFCD staff.

Eubanks emphasized that, though the map change is taking place in November, the flood danger has really been there all along. “That should be a good reason for people to get insurance right away to keep their homes protected,” he said.

Last month letters were sent to all homeowners in the affected areas notifying them again of the danger, prior to summer flash flood season. Flash flood season is considered to be June-September.

More information is available at the CCRFCD website at www.regionalflood.org. Once at the home page, go to the gray bar at the top of the page and click on the link “Flood Zone Changes”. Additional information is also available by calling the district at 702-685-0000.