December 2019 
High and Dry
A Newsletter from the UTAH FLOODPLAIN PROGRAM and The UTAH FLOODPLAIN AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (UFSMA)
Announcements
There is a new website for UFSMA!
We are excited for our new UFSMA website! It will give us better op-portunities to reach out to you in the future, manage the association needs, help with educational needs and more. There are a few kinks that we are working out with getting to know the website, so please be patient with us. Please visit us at ufsma.org and register for up-coming trainings and events.
If you are a member make sure you log in and look around on the website. Let us know how you like it and if you run into any issues.
If you are not a member you can quickly become one by registering on the website. Membership gives you access to newsletters, free or reduced cost trainings, and networking opportunities.
UFSMA 2019 Conference Recap
New Board Members
Ben Rood, CRS Engineers
Lizel Allen, Salt Lake County Flood Control
Cameron Jenkins, Bowen Collins & Associates
Janna Wilkinson, Utah Division of Emergency Management
New Officers/ Positions:
Tom Wright – Chair
Jeff Erdman-Vice Chair
Ryan Taylor– Secretary
Kathy Holder –Treasurer
Lizel Allen –Webmaster
Cameron Jenkins-Co-webmaster
Denis D. Stuhff Award Winners
Ahmad Salah, JUB
Ken Klinker, Farmington City
Jamie Huff, Utah Division of Emergency Management
Mitigation Practice
Flood Mitigation Ideas
By: Eric Martineau
# 1 Improve Flood Risk Assessment
- Incorporating the procedures for tracking high water marks following a flood into emergency response plans.
- Conducting cumulative impact analyses for multiple development projects within the same watershed.
- Conducting a verification study of FEMA’s repetitive loss inventory and developing an associated tracking database.
- Regularly calculating and documenting the amount of flood-prone property pre-served as open space.
- Requiring a thorough watershed analysis for all proposed dam or reservoir pro-jects.
- Developing a dam failure study and emergency action plan.
- Using GIS to map areas that are at risk of flooding.
- Obtaining depth grid data and using it to illustrate flood risk to citizens.
- Incorporating digital floodplain and topographic data into GIS systems, in conjunc-tion with Hazus, to assess risk.
- Developing and maintaining a database to track community exposure to flood risk.
- Revising and updating regulatory floodplain maps.
# 2 Manage the Floodplain Beyond Minimum Requirements
- Incorporating the ASFPM’s “No Adverse Impact” policy into local floodplain man-agement programs.
- Revising the floodplain ordinance to incorporate cumulative substantial damage requirements.
- Adopting a “no-rise” in base flood elevation clause for the flood damage preven-tion ordinance.
- Extending the freeboard requirement past the mapped floodplain to include an equivalent land elevation.
- Including requirements in the local floodplain ordinance for homeowners to sign non-conversion agreements for areas below base flood elevation.
- Establishing and publicizing a user-friendly, publicly-accessible repository for in-quirers to obtain Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
- Developing an educational flyer targeting NFIP policyholders on increased cost of compliance during post-flood damage assessments.
- Annually notifying the owners of repetitive loss properties of Flood Mitigation As-sistance funding.
- Offering incentives for building above the required freeboard minimum (code plus).
(Source: FEMA Mitigation Ideas)
NFIP News
By: Kathy Holder
The FEMA Flood Risk Communication Toolkit and video series are intended to empower community officials to more effectively com-municate with the public about flood risk. These resources showcase the benefits of the mapping program and its connection to risk reduction, helping the public and other stake-holders become partners in increasing resilience.
The Toolkit includes several components with tips for discussing complex risk topics in a meaningful way. The video series includes eight 2- to 5-minute videos that tell personal stories from around the country that communicate technical information in a relatable manner. Both the Toolkit and videos use plain language, and the information they provide is standardized but not pre-scriptive. The Toolkit and video series help FEMA deliver on its promise to provide simpler, more consistent experiences for its customers and to im-prove the customer experience as flood maps and data are being updated. These resources also have applicability outside of the journey to update flood risk; for instance, the Toolkit and videos could be used to support community-level planning activities in which FEMA is not directly involved.
Helping community officials better communicate with the public about flood risk helps to increase mitigation investment and close the insurance gap. Doubling flood insurance coverage and quadrupling investment in mitigation by 2022 is an ambitious goal, and success will depend on our ability to deliver a program that customers value and trust.
The Toolkit and video series are now available on the Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) page of FEMA.gov. The Toolkit com-ponents can be directly accessed here: . https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/179697
The video playlist posted on FEMA’s YouTube channel can be directly accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL720Kw_OojlIUiWw2bDc-On5MjQw13E6e. For questions, please con-tact Peter Herrick, Jr.: [email protected]. ( Source: FPMD Insid-er by FEMA)
Please don’t forget to do outreach to your communities.
Flood safety awareness is important!
UTAH FLOOD RISK AWARENESS OUTREACH RESOURCES FOR YOU TO ADD TO YOUR WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES
MITIGATING FLOOD LOSS WITH INSURANCE
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLGkiXdQDQnxNRGJzSTeuaiIhjHdqrhsyz
WHAT TO DO?
CALCULATE THE VALUE
- THE AVERAGE PROPERTY OWNER CAN PURCHASE FLOOD INSURANCE FOR LESS THAN $2 A DAY.
- JUST ONE INCH OF WATER IN A HOME CAN COST MORE THAN $26,000 IN FLOOD DAMAGE.
PREPARE EARLY
- MOST HOME OWNERS INSURANCE POLICIES DO NOT COVER FLOOD DAMAGE.
- YOU CAN’T CONTROL THE WEATHER, BUT YOU CAN PREPARE FOR IT. BUY FLOOD INSURANCE BEFORE A FLOOD HAPPENS. FLOOD INSURANCE POLICIES TAKE 30 DAYS TO GO INTO EFFECT.
- NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM POLICIES CAN BE PURCHASED THROUGH THOUSANDS OF INSURANCE AGENTS NATIONWIDE.
- GO TO FLOODFACTS.UTAH.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Upcoming Utah NFIP Trainings
Utah & Salt Lake County Flood Insurance Workshop
Monday, January 13, 2020 from 10:00–12:00 p.m.
Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/insurance-training-what-to-know-when-flood-maps-are-updated-tickets-84669628137
NFIP 101 and CFM Exam
March 18 2020 In Salt Lake City, Utah.
Register at ufsma.org
NFIP Substantial Improvement/Substantial Damage
April 20, 2020 in Salt Lake City. In Santa Clara April 22, 2020.
Register at ufsma.org
NFIP 101 and CFM Exam
October 20, 2020 In Park City, Utah.
Register at ufsma.org
UFSMA Conference 2020
October 20-23 in Park City, Utah
Register ufsma.org
Upcoming Mitigations Courses EMI
Full EMI Schedule: https://training.fema.gov/emicourses/schedules.aspx
Catalog of available courses: https://www.firstrespondertraining.gov/frt/npccatalog/EMI
- E0273: Managing Floodplain Development thru the NFIP 5/4/2020 - 5/7/2020
- E0273: Managing Floodplain Development thru the NFIP 8/31/2020 - 9/3/2020
- E0278: NFIP/Community Rating System 10/28/2019 -10/31/2019
- E0278: NFIP/Community Rating System 2/3/2020- 2/6/2020
- E0278: NFIP/Community Rating System 4/20/2020 - 4/23/2020
- E0278: NFIP/Community Rating System 7/27/2020 - 7/30/2020
- L0273: Managing Floodplain Development through the NFIP 8/26/2019 - 8/29/2019
https://dem.utah.gov/floodfacts/
or
FLOODFACTS.UTAH.GOV
Utah Risk MAP Corner
By: Jamie Huff
Utah Risk MAP Project Status Update
The Risk MAP Program is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program dedicated to providing communities with flood information and tools they can use to enhance their mitigation plan-ning efforts and take action to better prepare their citizens. Through more precise flood mapping prod-ucts, risk assessment tools, planning, and outreach support, Risk MAP strengthens local ability to make informed decisions about reducing risk.
In Utah, Risk MAP projects are funded through grants from FEMA and managed by the Utah Division of Emergency Management (DEM) through a partnership agreement established in 2004. Projects within Utah are identified on an annual basis and most funded projects are multi-year/multi-phased. If your community would like to be placed on a list to explore updated flood risk information, please con-tact DEM.
Currently, the State is focused on updating paper Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Flood In-surance Studies (FIS) to a digital format, identifying flood risk not yet mapped, updating outdated mapped flood hazard areas, and acquiring updated LiDAR (digital topography data) in order to more accurately define risk and promote flood risk awareness for our state.
To accomplish this, DEM has been aggressively seeking funds from FEMA to support this effort. In the past few years, (FEMA) funding has increased for the State of Utah and with more funding comes more projects! Currently, we are working on 15 projects in 21 of 29 counties. As funds are sought an-nually, this number will increase or decrease as projects are identified and completed. The map below illustrates where these projects are/will be occurring. Projects funded, but not yet initiated are expected to begin in 2020. If we have not been in contact with you already, DEM will reach out to your communi-ty Floodplain Administrator and/or community officials for further information during project develop-ment. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
If there are any questions about any of the information, please contact Jamie Huff, Risk MAP Program Manager, Utah Division of Emergency Management at 801-538-3752 or [email protected].
Silver Jackets
By Elizabeth Dionne, Water Resources Planner, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Educating Utah residents about flood risks takes ongoing effort
Agencies of all sizes and affiliations have been independently and collaboratively working through-out the year to reach the citizens of Utah in order to provide education about flood risks. The geog-raphy of Utah, snow gathering mountains in the east and desert in the west, makes many areas susceptible to floods fueled by snowmelt and cloudburst storms. Types of floods include closed ba-sin flooding, alluvial flooding, flash floods, sheet flooding, and mudflows which are exacerbated by wild fire burn scars.
Efforts to inform the public about the dangers of flooding include agency-to-agency and agency-to-community education. Agency-to-agency interactions consist of webinars, meetings, and exercises, such as The United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) collaboration with The University of Utah Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational & Environmental Health. USACE will be leading webinars in October and November to provide an overview of Emergency Action Plan (EAP) assistance they can provide to communities. USACE can provide Emergency Action Plan assis-tance for communities both with, and without, emergency plans. For communities that do not have an Emergency Action Plan, and would like some support to develop one, USACE can provide a one day workshop to guide the community through EAP development. For communities that have an EAP and would like to exercise it, USACE can provide multimedia and facilitation support to conduct a Tabletop Exercise. Tabletop Exercises assess an organizations ability to respond to an emergen-cy utilizing current plans, policies, and resources. They help identify improvements for keeping peo-ple safe, and evaluate continuity of operations after a disaster. Additionally, meetings and webinars educate local agencies on individual capabilities, goals, and avenues of approach in public engagement.
Methods of community educational outreach include social and digital media, print flyers and booklets, press outreach and in-person training. The Department of Public Safety (DPS), in con-junction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the website flood-facts.utah.gov, which give facts about the startling costs and probabilities of even minor flood dam-age. This site also directs Utahns to the National Flood Insurance Program website where flood in-surance can be purchased. Furthermore, DPS has created the YouTube video series ‘Be Ready Utah PrepCast’ which dedicates an entire episode to flood risk. The National Weather Service
(NWS) conducted aerial reconnaissance to identify wildfire burn scars that may be new potential mudflow hazards. NWS members were interviewed on morning news channels regarding these dan-gers, to provide potential flooding information directly to home audiences. Lastly, workshops touting the slogan “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” have been held at fire stations to encourage neighborhood engagement.
The American Red Cross performed a full shelter exercise for 250 persons in a gym at the Summit Center in Springville to replicate an actual shelter. The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief aid-ed in this exercise by cooking food and brining a disaster childcare unit. Classes covering disaster sanitation, hands only CPR, and volunteering in disasters were held at this event as well. Infor-mation booths present were disaster health and mental health, 72 hour kits, FEMA youth and family information, and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
There has also been a concerted effort to raise awareness about alluvial fan flood risk. USACE teamed with the Utah Silver Jackets team, State Hazard Mitigation Team, Department of Natural Resources, and the Utah Geologic Survey to map alluvial fans and create an informational brochure. This effort utilized public data sets to delineate 561 alluvial fans in 31 watersheds. From this, a brochure was created with the purpose of informing developmental decision of local agencies, as well as providing information to the public concerning risks associated with alluvial fan flooding.
Flood risk education is an ongoing effort. It takes cooperation from participating agencies and often requires creative and persistent methods to engage all members in the community. If you know of communities in Utah that may be interested in putting together an EAP, or exercising their EAP with a Tabletop Exercise, please email the USACE Silver Jackets lead for Utah, Rachael Orel-lana at [email protected]
Newsletter Contacts
Kathy Holder, State Floodplain Manager 801-538-3332 [email protected]
Jamie Huff, State Riskmap Program Manager 801-538-3752 [email protected]
UFSMA Chair, Tom Wright
t[email protected]
Newsletter Editor: Utah Floodplain Program
