Winter 1998 - 1999

Managing Northeastern Illinois’ Water Resources

n The Commission's officially adopted policy plans addressing water quality, flooding and stormwater drainage, and water supply are, to varying degrees, outdated. Revisions are needed to address updated local, state, and federal laws and policies, to reflect improved understanding of evolving technical issues, and to build on 20 years of experience in devising innovative techniques to manage water resources.

n The region is presently faced with numerous important water resource management challenges and issues. A small sampling of these issues might include: how to prevent increases in flood damage as new development spreads into outlying counties; how to cost-effectively restore the numerous degraded streams and lakes in urban and suburban areas; and how to assure the adequacy of groundwater and surface water supplies as growth accelerates.

n The physical and political circumstances related to water resource management are different in many respects in northeastern Illinois than in the rest of the state. For example, the region contains the entire length of the state's Lake Michigan shoreline; it contains a large share of the state's glacial lakes; it has roughly two-thirds of the state's population and a much higher population density and land coverage than the remainder of the state; its regulatory structure is much more evolved and complex than the rest of the state; and it is experiencing a rapid, unprecedented expansion of urban land development.

n There is a consensus among regional water resource management agencies and constituencies that an updated regional water resources plan would be a valuable undertaking. This follows previous

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From the Chair

Greetings again from the Chair of IAFSM. Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season. It's back to work now in a brand new year.

There have been two successful conferences this Fall. The annual Downstate Conference was held on October 21 - 22 with over 170 participants and a dozen exhibitors (see article page 12). Our Downstate Conferences have gotten better every year. They have been expertly run by co-chairs Sally McConkey (IDNR - State Water Survey) and Paul Osman (IDNR - Office of Water Resources).

Our many thanks to Sally and Paul. We understand why you are stepping down, but we also hope that you can help the new chair, Donna Beauchamp (Natural Resources Conservation Service).

I was fortunate to be able to speak at the annual conference of the Indiana Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management on October 28 - 30. They had more than 80 participants, not bad for an organization that is less than two years old. Matt Wahl (Peoria County) also spoke on our floodplain manager certification efforts. I do think there is a lot the two state associations can learn from each other. I invited them to attend our conferences.

Speaking of conferences, we have our annual one coming up in March. We have some high powered speakers, many concurrent sessions, the usual fun-filled social hour, and we expect more exhibitors than ever. See page 10 of this newsletter for more information. The flyers will be out in January. Put March 17 - 18 on your calendar.

Our floodplain manager certification program is coming along slowly but surely. It takes a lot of work by the committee members. Committee Chair Matt Wahl has an update article on this page. It should be every member’s goal to become certified. Not a bad idea for a New Year’s resolution.

In my last letter "From the Chair," I noted that we needed to fill two committee chair vacancies. Mark Hoskins of IDNR has agreed to take on the Awards Committee. My thanks to Mark. We still could use a chair for the Education and Outreach Committee. In the past, this committee has conducted the high school essay contests. What it does in the future is up to the chair.

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Progress towards a formal IAFSM Certification Program are proceeding well. The Certification Committee is preparing to have a pilot exam ready for all interested participants at the 1999 Annual Conference. Currently, the Association is planning to offer the exam on the afternoon of March 17th.

The committee is in the process of reviewing questions that have been developed under the following topics:

• Mapping
• Regulatory Standards/Procedures
• Mitigation/Insurance issues, and
• Natural and Beneficial functions.

We are trying to limit the pilot exam to 100 questions. It will be in a multiple choice format. We are currently working with FEMA to obtain its final home study course which is expected to be used in conjunction with the ASFPM National Certification Program. We hope to acquire the home study course materials in the near future in order to develop a study program for the Illinois certification process.

The ultimate goal of the IAFSM Certification Committee is to develop a program which will be unique to Illinois, but will be accepted for national certification credit by the ASFPM. Plan on participating in the certification exam process at the Spring Conference.

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Sample exam question

What’s the best way to help IAFSM?

(1) Join a committee

(2) Be a conference sponsor

(3) Advertise in the IAFSM News

(4) All of the above

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Map Modernization to Compress Study Process

At the Association’s 1998 Annual Conference, FEMA Associate Director for Mitigation, Mike Armstrong, explained his desires to reform the NFIP mapping process. He has accomplished much since then. The Map Modernization Plan is in full swing, seeking ways to speedup and modernize NFIP maps.

This article is taken from FEMA’s bi-monthly map modernization newsletter, Work in Progress. Subscriptions to this newsletter are free. To get on the mailing list, send a request by fax to 202/646-4596 or e-mail to: mapmod@fema.gov.

One of the Plan’s work groups is examining nearly every step in the way FEMA funds, contracts, reviews, and releases studies in order to recommend ways to significantly shorten the process for issuing revised flood studies and maps. A key lies in altering the current 92 steps that occur between the date a community is identified for restudy and the revised maps take effect.

On average, identifying a community for restudy and formalizing a contract between FEMA and the firm that will perform the study takes approximately 18 months. Ideas being considered to shorten the process include the use of multi-year, indefinite quantity task order contracts that build on the multi-year agreements already underway, as well as pre-selected study contractors that meet FEMA’s criteria for candidate firms.

To save time in the restudy performance phase, community meetings establishing study scope could take place before study performance begins, perhaps during the contracting phase. In addition, the group is discussing the possibility of recommending separate contracts for study components, such as aerial and digital mapping, as ways of freeing up study contractors to focus on field work.

Beyond study performance is the study review period. Limitations in the ways FEMA, the study contractor, and the Technical Evaluation Contractor (TEC), Dewberry & Davis, coordinate traditionally have resulted in lengthy study review periods. Regional Offices, working with study contractors and the TEC already are finding many ways to speed up the review process. All three participate in regular teleconferences to discuss and resolve technical issues as they arise.

The final steps in the study process are in the post-preliminary period. For each preliminary map, NFIP regulations require FEMA to make public announcements, hold a 3-month appeal and a 6-month compliance period during which communities must adopt the maps. These requirements are vital for ensuring that communities are notified of map changes and understand the NFIP’s floodplain management requirements. However, they stretch the preliminary process to often frustrating lengths.

Shortening the compliance period and starting the appeal period sooner in the study process are possible ways to speed up the post-preliminary process and get effective maps to communities sooner.

The overall goal of map modernization is to reduce study processing time to 33 months or less. The work group has taken on the added challenge of exploring areas for improving the quality of studies through new technology applications, superior base mapping, and community coordination.

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The Rock Island District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, plans to release a newsletter for public distribution around the end of January 1999 for the Upper Mississippi River System Flow Frequency Study. The purpose of the study is to develop flow frequencies for the main-stem of the Upper Mississippi, Lower Missouri and Illinois Rivers.

The Corps published a newsletter for this study in November 1997 which can be viewed on the Rock Island District website at: http://www.mvr.usace. army.mil/pdw/pdf/flowfreq.htm. Requests for the next newsletter may be sent to Mr. George F. Gitter, AICP, Study Coordinator, Rock Island District, Corps of Engineers, by telephone (309) 794-5387, or Internet: george.f.gitter@usace.army.mil.

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The similarities between Norway and Illinois are few. Norway has snow capped mountains, deep blue fjords, huge sparkling glaciers, and clean swift flowing rivers. Illinois’ last glacier was over 10,000 years ago, our mountains are actually molehills, and most of our rivers are neither clean or swift flowing. As for fjords, well...our only fjords are the Escorts, Mustangs and Taurus’ backed up on our expressways.

Despite these differences, a team of 10 experts from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration (NVE) selected Illinois as their best destination to learn about floodplain mapping and floodplain regulations in the United States. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources/Office of Water Resources was happy to be the host.

The Norwegian team’s first stop in the U.S. was the FEMA and USGS headquarters in Washington D.C. to look at mapping techniques. The team then traveled to Illinois, where they toured the mitigation sites of Valmeyer and Grafton and continued up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers looking at floodprone locations and both structural and non-structural solutions.

During the tour, presentations by the USGS, the Corps of Engineers, and the IDNR/Office of Water Resources provided background information on flood gaging, flood forecasting, mapping techniques, flood response and recovery, mitigation, floodplain regulations, and local use of floodplain maps and ordinances. The Norwegians also explained their mapping project in detail.

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration (NVE) is the agency responsible for the nation’s preparedness for floods and similar natural hazards affecting watercourses. Among the NVE responsibilities are flood warning and flood inundation mapping.

After a major flood in 1995, the Norwegian government directed the NVE to produce flood inundation maps to reduce the society’s vulnerability to floods and flooding. The average annual cost of flood damage in Norway is about $26 million dollars (by comparison, Illinois’ estimated average annual costs are about $200 million). In 1997, the NVE identified about 3,500 kilometers of river length as the most prone to flood damages. The plan is now to make flood inundation maps for about 1,500 kilometers of these river stretches.

The project runs through 2006 and is estimated to cost about $6 million U.S. dollars. Currently, the project is working on guidelines for the different aspects of the project process, specifically: data collection, flood frequency analysis, hydraulic modeling, map preparation and flood surface modeling, GIS analysis and map presentation, dam break calculations, and lastly, presenting the maps to local users.

The Norwegian floodplain maps will present inundation areas at 50, 100 and 200-year floods. Verifying these flood recurrence intervals should not be difficult in Norway where stream gage records in Norway go back as far as the year 1570 (that is not a typo....I said 1570)! Some of the Norwegian floodplain maps have already been produced using stream gage records and GIS technology.

The Norwegian maps have identified flood depths and the number and types of buildings affected. When combined with other geographic information, it is possible to produce lists of addresses and telephone numbers of inundated properties to be used for evacuation planning. The Norwegian government has defined that the safety levels should be differentiated in relation to the value and types of assets to be protected. Residences will be secured from 100-year floods, while industry and important infrastructure should be secured from a 200-year or larger flood.

The Norwegian mapping process is very impressive. It uses the most current GIS technology. Although the Norwegians came to Illinois to learn about our floodplain management process, it appears obvious that when they are completed, we could learn many lessons from the Norwegians.

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Back to the Basics

In addition to the "front line" floodplain managers in each community, there are a number of Federal and State staff and Federal Contractors involved in floodplain management and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in Illinois.

David Schein and Richard Roths of FEMA divide responsibility for the NFIP in Illinois. David is the Specialist responsible for downstate Illinois (that area outside of the Chicago Metropolitan area), and Richard is responsible for the Counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will. Richard is also the Community Rating System Coordinator (CRS) and reviews Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) plans for all of Illinois.

Ken Hinterlong is in charge of NFIP mapping for Illinois. Christine Stack is the Hazard Mitigation Officer for Illinois. She is assisted by Rusty Rickart.

FEMA contracts with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources which serves as the State Coordinating Agency of the NFIP for Illinois. David Boyce is the State Coordinator. His staff includes Vince Parisi who handles the Northeast area (the same area as is handled by Rich), Paul Osman who handles downstate Illinois (the same area as David), and Mark Hoskins who handles mapping for the entire state. Both Paul and Vince also have CRS responsibilities for Illinois.

Jan Horton of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is the State Hazard Mitigation Officer. In that capacity, she is responsible for the Hazard Mitigation Grant and Flood Mitigation Assistance Programs.

FEMA also has two contractors who work in the State of Illinois. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) is the contractor for the Community Rating System. Mike Knox, of ISO, visits communities statewide to assist them in preparing applications and verifies their eligibility for CRS.

Dewberry & Davis (D & D) is the NFIP mapping contractor for Illinois. Cleighton Smith is its representative and can provide pre-application technical assistance at FEMA’s request.

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Stormwater Management Service Charges

Since 1987, State law has allowed the formation of countywide stormwater management programs in the 5 collar counties (McHenry, Lake, Kane, DuPage and Will). All 5 counties have now formed these equal partnerships between municipalities and counties.

However, the law specified property taxes as the primary funding source. Given the subsequent property tax cap legislation, the ability to adequately fund this important part of our public infrastructure is severely limited.

A related problem is that property taxes must be levied uniformly across the county, despite the varying level of need of the various watersheds. All federal and state grant programs related to flood damage reduction and water quality now require local cost-sharing so our ability to leverage these funds is compromised.

We propose a solution: Amend the existing stormwater legislation to allow the use of service charges as an alternate funding mechanism. The drainage system, whether natural or man-made, is as much a part of our urban infrastructure as roads, sanitary sewer and drinking water; thus a dedicated funding source is needed for a sustained effort.

User fees, based on impervious areas, are more equitable than property taxes for drainage system improvements. Capital flood control projects (and local cost-sharing) could thus be funded by revenue bonds. This service charge funding mechanism is being used successfully throughout the United States and is recommended by Governor Edgar’s Water Resources and Land Use Priorities Task Force.

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  Most Common NFIP Compliance Problems

The following list was compiled by Richard Roths of FEMA Region V based on his many years of reviewing and assisting local floodplain management programs. Check your community’s program and see if any of these apply to you.

• Elevation certificates or as-builts not on file
• Building/development permit application fails to record floodplain data
• No determinations of substantial damage made after a flood or other disaster
• Mobile homes in mobile home parks/subdivisions not regulated
• Filling, dredging, mining, materials storage, etc. not regulated
• State permits not obtained
• Floodway encroachment analyses not performed
• Building official fails to pursue correction of violations
• Floodplain ordinance is obsolete
• Unnumbered A zone base flood elevation not obtained and utilized
• New construction not elevated or floodproofed as required
• Building official unaware of floodplain ordinance or requirements
• Municipal/county projects not regulated
• Other governmental units (school district, park district, drainage district, etc.) not regulated
• Community does not have FIRM, Floodway Map or Flood Insurance Study on file
• Community fails to make floodplain maps available to public
• Floodplain development permit procedure never established
• No floodplain permit official ever appointed
• Community officials unaware they participate in the NFIP

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  South Suburban Stormwater Strategy

The South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association has completed its draft South Suburban Stormwater Strategy: A Plan for Watershed Management. Funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the year-long planning process involved more than 60 stakeholders who volunteered to participate in six planning work groups. These stakeholders represented the south suburban cities as well as county, district, state and federal agencies, schools and businesses.

The work groups addressed the six major types of floodplain and stormwater management measures:

• Prevention
• Property protection
• Natural resource protection
• Emergency management
• Structural projects
• Public information

Building on the stakeholders’ knowledge and experiences and using a series of public forums and a field trip, the work groups developed a problem description and consensus goals, descriptions, challenges and recommendations for each of the six management measures. The Strategy also addresses cross-cutting issues of data, mapping, planning and coordination.

The last chapter of the Strategy is an action plan. Fourteen actions and projects are recommended. They are organized under five themes that were found to be common concerns of all of the work groups:

1. Improve regional and watershed coordination

2. Inform the public

3. Improve current stormwater management activities

4. Initiate new stormwater management approaches

5. Improve the level of funding

The final plan will be presented for adoption by the Board of the Suburban Mayors and Managers Association on January 21. Copies of the draft Strategy’s Executive Summary are available by calling Mindy Barrett at SSMMA (708/206-1155).

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Flood Mitigation Projects

The map on the next page shows the location of 70 flood mitigation projects that have been funded through the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Most of the projects were funded with Hazard Mitigation Grant Program monies that were made available following the eight Presidential disaster declarations that Illinois has had since the July 1993 Mississippi River floods.

All of the projects were to acquire flooded properties. Proposed projects (as of September 1998) are marked with an asterisk. Additional building elevation projects were funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, but are not shown separately on the map. For more information on mitigation grant programs, contact IEMA’s Jan Horton at 217/782-9486.

30 Adams County 23

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1999 IAFSM Annual Conference

The 1999 Annual Conference will be at the Ramada/O’Hare in Rosemont on Wednesday and Thursday, March 17 - 18. A full conference brochure with registration form will be mailed out in January. Here’s a sneak preview of the conference program.

8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Exhibits

10:30 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. Concurrent Sessions

12:30 p.m. Lunch

2:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions

3:30 p.m. Break

4:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions

(Advanced sign up required)

5:30 Social Hour

10:30 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. Concurrent Sessions

12:30 p.m. Lunch

2:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions

3:30 p.m. Adjourn

Those wishing to be a conference sponsor should contact Mary Lu at IAFSM (708/747-5273).

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Management of Small Lakes and Ponds in Illinois, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Revised 1997. A handy and detailed instruction book for pond owners and managers. May also be available through the local soil and water conservation districts.

FEMA has a series on "how to" protect a property from flooding. The series can be reviewed and downloaded from FEMA’s web site at http://www. fema.gov/mit/how2.htm

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The 4^th Annual IAFSM Downstate Conference was held in Collinsville on October 21 and 22, 1998. This conference has grown from a one-day conference attended by 100 people to a two-day conference attended by over 170 local officials, engineers, insurance agents, lenders and other professionals who deal with floodplain management issues.

One of the focal points of this year’s conference was the ongoing struggle regarding county-wide stormwater management in the Metro East St. Louis Area. The Honorable Thomas Holbrook, Illinois General Assembly Representative, was the featured speaker at the opening session. He provided an update of legislative activity dealing with the stormwater management issues in the Metro-East St. Louis Area.

Other conference offerings included an update on the Federal Emergency Management Agency map modernization program as well as state and federal regulations. The mitigation session was also a packed house.

On the second day of the conference, representatives of FEMA, Dewberry and Davis, and Woodward-Clyde held a half-day workshop on floodplain map revisions. The afternoon of the second day a Flood Insurance Forum was held. The Forum brought together insurance agents, lenders, bankers, and local officials to established communication between practitioners in central and southern parts of the state.

Prior to the conference, a suggestion was made that IAFSM consider holding an annual or bi-annual statewide floodplain conference in a central location (i.e. Peoria, Bloomington, Champaign, etc.). The statewide IAFSM conference was suggested as a means to bring together all of the state’s floodplain managers and draw upon the wide variety of experts and flood related business located statewide.

During the downstate conference luncheon attendees had an opportunity to vote on combining the downstate and northeastern Illinois conference into one joint bi-annual conference held in a central location. Conference attendees voted overwhelmingly in favor of a combined conference. A similar vote will be held at the spring northeastern Illinois IAFSM conference.

Once again, the Downstate Conference was a resounding success. After four years, Paul Osman and Sally McConkey will be "retiring" as co-chairs and Barb Pollack will "retire" as conference registrar. Donna Beauchamp, Madison and St. Clair County Conservationist, NRCS, has volunteered to chair the 1999 Downstate conference which will return to the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge in Grafton. Anyone willing to help with the 1999 Conference should call Donna at 618/346-3336.

Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management
Any questions, comments or postings? Please e-mail them to Arnel De Los Reyes at cbbel@megsinet.net
This page was last updated on 5/24/99.

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