The long-delayed new version of maps outlining Santa Maria Valley areas where property owners would be required to purchase flood insurance could be available for review within weeks, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency engineer.

Ray Lenaburg, the Oakland-based FEMA supervisor for the past two years for the revised flood insurance study (FIS) report that summarizes community flood hazards, said he expects to receive and review the updated work maps this week and hopes “to send them out to the communities before the end of the month.”

The maps, however, will not be finalized for at least a year, according to the timeline described by Lenaburg.

After the preliminary maps are issued, a 30-day review period with local officials and the public begins, Lenaburg said. That will be followed by a 90-day period to meld the FIS results into a preliminary draft flood insurance rate map and then another 90 days for public review and appeals.

The formal six-month period for adoption begins after any appeals have been resolved.

All together, the process will take a year or more before the new maps are effective and the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements take effect, he said.

Before the new maps become effective, home and business owners who buy flood insurance can purchase it at both a lower cost and risk level, so the timing is important.

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Once the draft maps are released, Santa Maria Utilities Director Rick Sweet said, the city plans to schedule community workshops with FEMA officials, county flood control staff and local insurance agents.

In April, local officials got an early look at the maps, which showed that much of Santa Maria, including 20,000 parcels and 17,000 structures, would be placed in a flood plain. That designation would then trigger a flood insurance requirement for anyone with a federally backed mortgage.

The Santa Maria River Levee was built between 1959 and 1963 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of its Santa Maria Project, which included Twitchell Dam and reservoir. Once completed, the levee was handed over to Santa Barbara County, and the Board of Supervisors oversees the flood control district.

The levee is made of river sand formed into a berm and fronted with an 18-inch rock face. However, the rock has been damaged almost every time the river fills with winter rain. If the rock washes away, there's nothing to keep the sand in place or keep the structure from failing.

County officials have said levee deterioration is because of inadequate design by the Corps, not a paucity of maintenance.

The last total levee breach was in 1998, west of the city limits.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005, FEMA began examining flood maps across the country and started revising its FIS for Santa Barbara County that September.

Julian J. Ramos can be reached at 739-2219 or at jramos@santamariatimes.com.

September 16, 2008