Karen Dillon

Karen writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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If you have waterfront property on the Bedford County side of the lake, chances are you recently received a memorandum from the county in your mailbox with "FEMA Floodplain Information" in the subject line.

"People have not been happy," said Mary Zirkle, the county's chief of Planning, of those who've received notifications. She said the county's engineer received about 50 calls in two days from property owners.

According to the letter, Federal Emergency Management Agency recently completed a multi-year study of Bedford County's flood zones and developed new detailed flood-hazard maps, also known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM).

The letter begins: "The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the parcel identified on the outside mailing label of this letter has been mapped into a higher risk zone, known as a Special Flood Hazard Area, and shown as 'A' and 'AE' on the FIRM. If you have a mortgage from a federally regulated lender and the building(s) on this parcel are within the SFHA, then by federal law, your lender must require you to carry flood insurance when these flood maps become effective."

More than 1,000 county residents, including lake homeowners, were mailed copies of the letter earlier this month, said Zirkle.

"This is just a service the county is providing to citizens to let them know their FEMA elevations have changed," she said.

The county was notified in March by FEMA that the new draft maps were complete. FEMA placed notices in local newspapers, while the county opted to send letters to residents in addition to the FEMA notices. The county wanted to give citizens plenty of time to view the maps and make comments.

Residents are invited to view the maps at the Bedford County Administration Building through July 15. During this time, residents can file a protest with FEMA regarding the mapping of their property.

"Once the appeals and protests are reviewed and once any needed map changes are incorporated, FEMA will issue a Letter of Final Determination," the letter read. Six months after the Letter of Final Determination, an ordinance approving the new maps will be adopted and any flood insurance requirements will go into effect.

The new FEMA maps, said Zirkle, only show streams and rivers, floodplain delineation and county roads; topography of the land was not included. Bedford County compared the survey data it had on file from its Geographic Information System with the new FEMA maps to generate the list of affected parcels.

"Our parcel data is only as accurate as the surveys on file," said Zirkle. "There could be some error there."

The county isolated parcels with changes to the flood elevation, regardless of the amount of the parcel included in the change, said Zirkle.

"If a parcel now touches the new flood elevations, the parcel was flagged to receive notice that the property owner may want to talk to their lender during the draft map review window."

David Mitchell of Shrader Engineering and Land Surveying in Bedford said residents should study the new maps to determine if their homes at the lake are above the elevation of 802.7 feet. This is the height FEMA has determined to be the Special Flood Hazard Area, also known as the 100-year floodplain.

If there's a question about whether a structure is below that elevation, Mitchell suggested having a survey conducted, especially if flood insurance is being required by their lenders and the owners believe their homes are not in the flood hazard area. The average cost of getting a one-acre property surveyed with a completed flood certificate is about $1,000, said Mitchell.

If it's determined that there are dwellings within that Special Flood Hazard Area, mortgage lenders could require those homeowners to purchase flood insurance, according to the letter. Flood insurance is available through the National Flood Insurance Program and, according to the NFIP Web site, the annual cost for a single-family, one-level structure with no basement in the high-risk premium category is between $503 and $2,462.

The flood-insurance program was established by Congress in 1968 to help ease the consequences of flooding. According to its Web site: "The goals of the program are twofold: to protect communities from potential flood damage through floodplain management, and to provide people with flood insurance."

Homeowners with questions about the flood maps can access the frequently asked questions section on FEMA's Web site at www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/fq_genhm.shtm.

Residents interested in making an appointment to view the FEMA maps can contact Bedford County's Department of Community Development at (540) 586-7616, ext. 1242.