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The City of Llano hosted a town hall meeting last Thursday evening to give representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Flood Insurance Program chance to explain the new mapping project and its impact on property owners near the Llano River and its tributaries. After a short presentation, the presenters answered a few questions from the audience, which numbered more than 100 concerned citizens.

After brief introductions, Vice-President Mike Moya, of Halff Associates Engineers, opened the program with a slide show explaining FEMA’s 5-year, nationwide, $1 billion map modernization program. At a May 2007 “scoping meeting,” Llano County was one of about one hundred Texas counties chosen for re-mapping, and over the next two years, FEMA contractors prepared detailed digital topographic maps through aerial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. They then used computer models to estimate the elevation of flood water at a “100-year flood” volume of 405,000 cubic feet per second, and plotted that level of flooding on their new maps.

The effect, inside the city limits of Llano, was to dramatically increase the number of property owners who would be inside the floodplain. These properties would be required by lienholders to carry flood insurance at much higher rates than dictated by previous floodplain maps. Prior to last Thursday’s meeting, the city had persuaded engineers to use the estimated volume of 380,000 cubic feet per second from the 1935 flood as their “100-year flood” standard, a concession which lessened the expected impact of the new maps. Moya emphasized at Thursday’s meeting that Halff Associates did not believe that the 1935 flood (which washed away the bridge built in 1892) was a “100-year flood,” saying that computer models placed it as “slightly less” than their “one percent chance” criteria.

Vearl Wolverton and Mark Lujan of NFIP explained some technicalities of flood insurance zones and policies (If you have questions, call NFIP at 214-618-1092). Carl Watts, of FEMA, pointed out that some properties previously thought to be in the floodplain would be exempted when the more-accurate maps were implemented, but some pointed questions from insurance agent Jeff Hopf made it clear that more Llano residents would be paying higher premiums when the new maps go into effect.

According to the NFIP website, only 22 property owners in Llano carried flood insurance in 2009; annual premiums totaled nearly $16,000 for almost $4.3 million worth of coverage. In the last 32 years, only ten claims have been filed, and two of those were “closed without payment.” The eight claims which have been paid totaled just over $108,000; that averages out to about $3,375 in claims paid per year since 1978 in the City of Llano. Mayor Mike Reagor estimates that the number of properties inside the floodplain will increase by “40 or 50” when the new map goes into effect, and at least some of the affected owners will have to buy flood insurance.

A digital version of the map will soon be available, and the city will be able to determine exactly which properties are in the floodplain. If property owners feel that the map is flawed, they can file a “letter of map amendment.” Property owners who buy flood insurance before the new maps go into effect can have their zone classification “grandfathered,” and a property’s status will not be re-evaluated unless there is “substantial damage or substantial improvement” (an addition valued at at least 50 percent of the property’s previous appraisal). All specific questions should be directed to the NFIP.

City Manager Finley deGraffenried addressed the audience toward the end of the meeting. “I want you to know that we didn’t lay down on this,” pointing out that the city’s protests had persuaded FEMA to use the volume of the 1935 flood as its model for a theoretical “100-year flood,” greatly reducing the impact of the map’s “modernization.” In answer to a question from audience member Steve Griffin, Mayor Mike Reagor told the crowd that he has already contacted Congressman Mike Conaway’s office, and plans to ask for help with funding for a more detailed study of flood risks in the City of Llano; the detailed engineering study used by FEMA covered only the east side of the county, and stopped at the city limits of Llano.