TRUMBULL COUNTY Agencies ask county to update flood maps

Some expensive technology that the county acquired five years ago will help update the maps.
WARREN -- Federal and state agencies are requiring Trumbull County to update flood maps last changed in the 1970s.
These National Flood Insurance Program maps must reflect changes that have occurred over the last few decades. Their updating is part of a Department of Homeland Security initiative to modernize the nation's flood map inventory.
The maps have to be kept up-to-date so that county residents can qualify for help in the event of a flood.
Every new development or paved area since the maps were last updated contributes to additional storm water runoff into flood plains -- most likely increasing the area of the flood plain.
A flood plain or floodway is a low-lying area adjacent to a body of water, such as a stream, that's prone to flooding annually, or every 50 or 100 years.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Ohio Department of Natural Resources have notified Trumbull County commissioners by letter that they want the updating to begin.
FEMA and ODNR also are requiring the county to update its Special Flood Hazard Resolution to provide greater protections for public health, safety and general welfare. It has been more than 11 years since this resolution was updated; higher flood plain management standards will have to be in place when FEMA eventually issues new flood maps.
Trish Nuskievicz knew the updates were needed. She's a planner and environmental specialist for the Trumbull County Planning Commission and in January got added duties as the county's flood plains administrator. At that point she went through office files to make sure the county would stay in good status.
"I saw it immediately, and it was a complete coincidence when this letter came in," she said. "We [residents] could lose our flood insurance, absolutely," if the updating isn't done.
Old ones are out of date
Some of the flood plain maps in her office are yellowing and taped together, dated Sept. 29, 1978. Consider the volume of development that has occurred since then in places like Howland, Cortland, Liberty and Girard, for example, not to mention highway projects countywide.
New regulations would make sure developments have proper storm water retention areas, so there's no more water runoff after a development than there was before.
"There are roads missing [on the old maps] that weren't even built at the time," she noted. "In the past there was a lot of guessing."
Guessing isn't much help to a builder or developer, and using old data can lead to errors, she noted. "But you can pretty much guarantee, if it's in a floodway, it's probably going to flood on an annual basis. It's a pretty dangerous area, there's no building in a floodway."
That's because floodwater chooses its own course and can move structures and vehicles and sweep away people. "Water is extremely powerful and destructive when it's moving at those velocities," Nuskievicz said.
FEMA, ODNR and the county soon will have a "scoping meeting" to outline each agency's duties and to determine what the county's expense would be. The updating process could take a couple of years, Nuskievicz explained.
The mapping should be greatly aided by the county's purchase five years ago of a Geographic Information System. The county is paying on a $2.5 million bond for the technology.
What it does
The GIS mapping uses aerial photos as part of tax maps to reflect the actual topography, buildings, roads and bodies of water. Nuskievicz said this should save time and money throughout the update process. It also will allow development of countywide flood maps, as opposed to individual community maps.
It's possible the updated flood maps could wind up on a Web site for the public, such as the county auditor's page, she added.
"We are at probably the best point we could ever be in the county, because we do have GIS up and running," she said. "We'll end up with a really good product in the end which will help keep our residents safe and protected under the insurance program."
In the past three months Nuskievicz has used GIS to create close to 50 individual flood maps and given the information out by request to the public, insurance companies, banks and developers.
"Anybody that wants a building permit is looking for this type of information," she noted.
Nuskievicz, of Warren, grew up in Cortland and went to work at the planning commission right out of college. She got her bachelor's of science degree in geology from Kent State University in 1997. For nine years she's worked on the county's flood plains, before taking on the administrative duties this year.
The job is especially challenging now that two people who used to assist with her work have been laid off during the county's financial crunch. She said, however, that she has "a passion to protect these residents."