Kramer, Betsy, Program Manager for Community Revitalization, SEDA-Council of Governments, 201 Furnance Road, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, bkramer@seda-cog.org; Cassidy, Alimara, Community Resiliency Project Coordinator , SEDA-Council of Governments, 201 Furnance Road, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, alimara.cassidy@seda-cog.org; Wright, Brittiny, Program Assistant SEDA-Council of Governments 201 Furnance Road Lewisburg PA, 17837, bwright@seda-cog.org; Bango, Thandeka, Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment, Bucknell University, One Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, tmb027@bucknell.edu; Barnhart, Shaunna, Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment Bucknell University, One Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, shaunna.barnhart@bucknell.edu.
Accurate mapping is essential for communities to know and understand their potential flood exposure and risk. Changes in land development, precipitation, and infrastructure can impact the probability of flood hazards. Updating flood mapping determines insurance rates and can influence the direction of development and revitalization efforts in communities. When flood maps are redraw, communities have a period in which to appeal. However, without adequate engineering support, a community’s capacity to engage in an informed appeal process can be limited. In 2019, the City of Shamokin requested that the appeal period for a revised Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) be extended due to initial lack of engineering support for appealing. This Preliminary FIRM projected a doubling of the flood plain. At the request of SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG), a Bucknell University student intern mapped potential impact of this change and a history of flood insurance claims. This information was used by SEDA-COG, on behalf of the City, to successfully request permission and funding to do a hydrology and hydraulics study as part of the extended appeal process. With a grant of $130,000, the City hired an independent consulting engineering firm to assess the physical hydraulics and hydrology of the city, generating a report which deemed that the original FEMA assessments were much higher than the hydrologic realities of the landscape. Their revised map showed an increase in the floodplain of about 25%, not 100%. Another student intern then created public outreach materials for residents to help explain the flood mapping process and its impact on the community. In this poster, we review the process and findings of this mapping reassessment, reflect on university-community partnerships in the process, and highlight the impact of the new findings.
Flooding , Revitalization , Partnerships