The Federal Emergency Management Agency has delivered preliminary flood maps for unincorporated Colusa County and the cities of Colusa and Williams. The maps identify revised flood hazards along the Sacramento River, Stone Corral Creek near Maxwell, Salt Creek at Williams, and two reaches of Elk Creek.
“This has been an ongoing topic,” said Colusa County Public Works Director Mike Azevedo. “We’ve held the remapping effort at arm’s length for quite some time.”
The county received preliminary maps back in July and attempted to delay the formal comment period before the maps became effective, but were unsuccessful, Azevedo said.
The 90-day comment (appeal) period started running Jan. 25. Residents or businesses with supporting technical and scientific information, such as detailed hydraulic or hydrologic data, can appeal the flood risk information on the preliminary maps until April 26.
The new FEMA maps are supposed to help building officials, contractors, and homeowners make effective flood mitigation decisions, thereby contributing to safer and more disaster resilient communities, according to a new release issued last week by FEMA.
Officials from FEMA, Colusa County, and the cities of Colusa and Williams have worked together to provide updated information that accurately reflects the flood risk.
The maps can be viewed at fema.gov/preliminaryfloodhazarddata.
Azevedo said about 2,700 parcels in Colusa County have been added to the special flood zone hazard.
“About 1,900 are in the county; 700 are in the city of Colusa; and the balance is in and around the city of Williams,” Azevedo said.
Because the changes will affect future building standards and insurance requirements, Colusa County is working to schedule workshops so property owners understand what the new flood maps will mean. At least one meeting will be held in Princeton, which will be heavily affected by the new flood zone designations.
Meetings will likely be held in Colusa and Williams.
Avevedo said while Public Works is tasked with administering the flood zone, the remapping effort is entirely FEMA-driven.
The Colusa County Board of Supervisors had planned to discuss a possible Community Based Flood Insurance Pilot Program on Jan. 31, but the presenter was unable to attend.
The presentation has been rescheduled.
County officials said they hope to provide residents with a more economical, locally controlled, federally compliant insurance option by partnering with University of California, Davis, the California Department of Water Resources, and the California Department of Insurance for the development and implementation of a Community Based Flood Insurance pilot program.
For more information about the flood zone maps, contact Colusa County at (530) 458-0466 or Colusacountydpw@countyofcolusa.com. Other community information is available for the city of Colusa at (530) 458-4740 or citymanager@cityofcolusa.com, and Williams at (530) 235-3279 or kramsaur@cityofwilliams.org.
The new zones are expected to become effective in about one year after they are federally adopted by FEMA, officials said. ■