Wells Are Dry and Water is Scarce but Valley Residents Still Must Pay Flood Insurance

As the valley enters it’s fourth year of severe drought, the last thing on many minds is flooding, but according to the federal government the threat of flooding is still a reality and thousands are still required to pay flood insurance.

Thousands of homes in Tulare County lie on designated flood zones, thus requiring flood insurance. Some residents are wondering why they have to pay for water protection when there is no water, but officials say believe it our not, floods are very possible in drought conditions.

The land is bone dry; parched.  There’s no water in sight and rivers and wells are dry, yet in a vast part of Tulare County, homeowners are forced to shell out money for a potential water overload; flooding the federal government believes could be disastrous.

Tulare County homeowner Grace Darr says, "For us to be paying for something that we’re never going to use. I think it’s a rip off."

Darr has owned and lived in her home for 35 years.  In 2009, after the Federal Emergency Management Administration came in and re-assessed land, her house was added to a flood zone.

"I do not believe that there is not even a smidgen that we would have a flood here."

According to FEMA, several areas are at risk of experiencing a flood within 100 years.  Darr says she doesn’t believe her home is at risk because it sits higher than the street she lives on.  She also says she’s been told she needs insurance because she lives six miles away from St. John’s River.  However, according to FEMA’s flood map, other areas directly next to the river are not considered flood zones.

"That’s bs.  To me that is so unfair," says Darr.

After calling FEMA, we found out that the flood map only outlines general risk areas.

Fema official Edith Lohmann says, "It is true that we don’t do mapping house by house.  We don’t have the budget for that."

There is a solution, although it will cost the homeowner between $ 500 and $ 800; that’s on top of the hundreds of dollars already paid each year for flood insurance.

FEMA says homeowners can hire a private company to survey their home’s elevation. If they receive proof that they’re not in a flood risk area, their flood insurance can then be cancelled, although that’s not recommended.

Central Valley Insurance partner Scott Bosler says, "A flood event could occur."

Bosler says since he started at central valley insurance eight years ago, not one flood claim has been filed.  Still, he says drought conditions can actually cause flooding.  For one, he says land that is so dry can begin to settle and shift potentially causing a water main break.

"A second one is because of the drought and the impaction of the ground any precipitation tends to run off rather than being absorbed," says Bosler.

Bosler also says flood premiums have gone up about 80% in the last eight years,and they are required to be paid in full in one payment.  FEMA says it understand that can be difficult for homeowners to pay one lump sum, and say an affordability study is underway right now that could allow installment payments to be made in the future.