Colusa County is one of only four communities statewide that has been given an opportunity to participate in a community-based flood insurance pilot program.
The Colusa County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 14, approved a resolution convening a working group to collaborate with the University of California, in Davis; the California Department of Water Resources; California Department of Insurance; and other interested stakeholders to develop and implement a program that could reduce the cost of insuring property in the event of a flood.
The effort by the county is in response to the new FEMA flood insurance maps that will place some 2,700 additional parcels in Colusa County into a Special Flood Hazard Area, which would require anyone with a federally-backed mortgage to purchase costly flood protection insurance, officials said.
“We have a considerable amount of parcels added to the flood zone that could negatively impact those properties,” said Public Works Director Mike Azevedo, the Colusa County flood zone administrator.
The properties would also be subject to mandatory building requirements.
Azevedo said most of the new properties added are primarily located in the communities of Princeton and southwest Colusa, where levee improvements to remove them from flood hazards have been determined to be financially infeasible. The board previously adopted flood maps for the communities of Maxwell, unincorporated areas of Williams, and Arbuckle.
While county officials will continue to focus on efforts to improve community resiliency and recovery following a flood event, they are looking to increase the number of financially-protected properties by providing access to more affordable, FEMA-compliant flood insurance.
Kathleen Schaefer, a PhD student at UC Davis, is spearheading the pilot program to provide a more economical, locally controlled, federally compliant insurance option.
“My work is supported by the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Insurance, who have a very strong interest in helping the state of California find alternatives to the National Flood Insurance Program,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer said the primary reason so many property owners are not protected by flood insurance is that they simply underestimate their flood risk.
“The other problem that we are seeing is the cost of insurance is increasing and making it unaffordable for many households,” Schaefer said. “And having your community being uninsured is a challenge as a community. The reality is that nobody cares about flooding and flood risk until it’s the only thing you care about.”
Shaefer said having an affordable and robust insurance program is something that will help the community be resilient in the event of a flood.
The Board of Supervisors will convene a working group to work with Shaefer and state agencies to develop a local flood insurance program. The group will comprise seven appointed members to include one member from each Supervisorial district, one member from the City of Colusa and one member from the City of Williams.
The county has identified $5,000 in funds for technical support for working group activities, which Azevedo or his designee will oversee.
The resulting insurance program will require final approval by the Board of Supervisors. ■