November 18 – Residents of Davenport are already getting a 15% discount on flood insurance due to a better rating from a FEMA program that rewards community efforts to go beyond minimum flood management standards. Unincorporated Rock Island and Moline County residents also receive discounts.
Now, Bettendorf try to get on board.
River actiona non-profit environmental organization that works on all things river-related, won a grant last year to help hire an intern to help the City of Bettendorf apply for a community rating system, the Federal Emergency Management Agency program that offers discounts on flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
It was a key topic on Thursday River action Meet.
The scheme’s program offers flood insurance premium discounts ranging from 5% to 45% based on credits earned by performing flood protection activities. There are 19 activities, including maintaining FEMA elevation certificates for new buildings, providing flood maps, posting flood protection information online, zoning flood plains, acquiring or moving flood-prone buildings out of the floodplain, among others.
FEMA raised Davenport’s grade in 2020 from 8 to 7, with the lowest number being the best score on a 10-point scale. Have a note at all unlocks FEMA subsidies and a better rating give residents a bigger discount on their flood insurance. Residents of a community with a score of 8 get a 10% discount on NFIP insurance and a score of 7 gets a 15% discount.
“All boats rise when the tide rises” River action Executive Director Kathy Wine said.
A FEMA a visit is planned in January to assess from Bettendorf programs.
In a floodplain management area, Bettendorf focused on buying and destroying homes in a flood-prone area to turn it into green space.
Over the past 10 years, Bettendorf bought and razed more than 20 homes on the 100-year-old floodplain to become green space with the help of federal grants. Last year, the city applied for funds to make offers on 17 more homes.
Representatives of Scott County and LeClaire at river action meeting at Riverdale on Thursday said their government entities were interested in applying for FEMA community assessments.
Anthony Heddlestenthe mayor of Riverdale and chief engineer United States Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District, warned that size matters. He said in Riverdale, only a handful of properties were insured by the National Flood Insurance Program, so it wasn’t worth the investment. He said the rule of thumb is 50 or more properties to see a return.
River action staff also described a new grant that has become available from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund conservation projects across the country. Called American the Beautiful Challenge, it started this year, with the first round of grants scheduled for earlier this summer. Staff said they hope to develop a wetland conservation app by rocky island and near Crow Creek in Bettendorf.
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