Rare revision of flood map boosts businesses in Austin

For years, the designation of a flood plain along Highway 50 through the heart of Austin stifled development, raised insurance rates and dampened real estate sales.

But officials of Lander County, armed with new data developed by Summit Engineering Corp. in Reno, now have convinced federal officials that the flood map was wrong.

And not just a little wrong.

While the old flood designation cut a 350-foot-wide swath through the heart of the town of 340 people in Lander County, the new designation now covers just a tiny area at the east edge of town where floodwaters would be captured by a flood-drain system.

"It's a big help. This removes a major impediment to future economic development in Austin," says Lander County Commissioner Ray Williams. "It was almost ridiculous the way they included all those properties."

One house that sits on a hillside 43 feet above the centerline of Highway 50, for instance, previously was included in the floodplain.

For businesses along the highway, additional insurance costs had run as much as $1,600 a year. Sales of property were difficult if they required the involvement of a financial institution. Building permits often required owners to undertake flood mitigation.

"Economic development is tough enough as it is," says Ben Veach, a project manager with Summit Engineering.

The revised map affects about 85 commercial parcels and 30 residential properties in the town. The change removed about 39 acres from flood-plan designation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency OK'd the new map in December after a year-long review. Those revisions, officials said, are rare.

Veach says FEMA staff were swayed by evidence that the storm drain system built after the original map was prepared would be sufficient to carry waters out of town. Summit Engineering also was able to use state-of-the-art hydrological technology to build its case.