New numbers could mean savings for local homeowners
Photo by JOSH McDONALD/ The South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River as it runs through a channel in the middle of Kellogg. According to unverified numbers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the channel would be more than deep enough to handle a potential 100-year flood, which should allow homeowners in the area to no longer have to pay expensive flood insurance if the numbers get verified.
KELLOGG — Homeowners on the western half of Shoshone County will be excited by the possibility of saving some of their hard earned money.
Over the years homeowners in Kellogg, Smelterville and Pinehurst have existed within a floodplain as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which in turn has forced them to pay for annual flood insurance on their properties.
Flood insurance policy prices vary depending upon flood area and structure characterizes.
In general, the range is from just over $300 to a couple of thousands of dollars annually per property, according to representatives at the Shoshone County Courthouse.
The mandatory insurance is rooted directly with flood maps from FEMA, where it shows the possibility for 10-, 50-, 100- and 500-year flood events.
The number of years in flood terms are probabilities. The numbers come from historical data including rainfall and stream stage, and represent the probability of a river hitting flood stage within a certain period of time.
For example, a 100-year flood indicates a flood of a certain magnitude that has a 1 percent chance of happening in any year.
In any given year, a 10-year flood has a 10 in 100 chance of occurring, a 50-year flood has a one in 50 chance of occurring, a 100-year flood a one in 100 chance and a 500-year flood a one in 500 chance.
The current maps used by FEMA in Shoshone County are exceptionally dated and utilize projected river flows in cubic feet per second (CFS), and due to their lack of recent information it shows that a 100- and 500-year flood water flows as potentially disastrous to much of the Kellogg, Smelterville and Pinehurst areas, and thus require flood insurance.
However, there are some new flow numbers that could potentially lift that mandate.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been monitoring water flows for some time now, and if their current numbers (which at this point are unofficial) are verified by FEMA the maps will significantly change for the better.
“The most recent review of calculated flood flows by the USACE for South Forth Coeur d'Alene River from Little Pine Creek to Elizabeth Park indicate a substantially reduced footprint of flooded areas during large runoff events,” said Shoshone County Commissioner Mike Fitzgerald. “This reduced footprint likewise removes many homes and businesses from these areas and precludes the need for flood hazard insurance mandated by most bank loans for property.”
For example, based off measurements in 2002, the projected 100-year flood would see water flows of 14,100 cfs at the Elizabeth Park Bridge, while measurements at the same location in 2018 (with 16 more years of data) now only show projected water flows at 8,002 cfs in the event of a 100-year flood, more than 40% reduction in projected flows.
While that 2018 number is unverified at this point and likely difficult to mentally picture, readers can imagine it this way.
The South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River flows through much of the Silver Valley before converging with the North Fork just south of the Snake Pit in Enaville.
Beginning near Elizabeth Park, the River moves into a deep channel that runs alongside I-90, until it gets through Kellogg where the river banks level out.
On the current FEMA floodplain maps, the channel is full to the near top during the 100-year flood, but with the new numbers that channel is only half full, while the 500-year flood comes just to the tip top like the 100-year flood currently shows.
The reason for the inflated numbers, according to Shoshone County Emergency Manager Dan Martinsen is due to a smaller sample of measurable data at the time that the current maps were formed and then they simply haven’t had the numbers tracked or updated regularly since then.
Fitzgerald is pleased to hear of these new numbers and hopes to see them verified by FEMA, which in turn could save thousands of local residents thousands of dollars and even be a stimulant for the local economy.
“The bottom line is money saved,” Fitzgerald said. “Home and business owners with most common bank loans that have property removed from a flood hazard will not be required to carry flood insurance.”
The Silver Valley Flood Protection group, which consists of city representatives pursuing the verification of the new water flow numbers, but the process does require some additional funding.
For more information, contact the city of Kellogg at 208-786-9131.