Des Plaines wants flood insurance discounts
Adding a pumping station and buying sandbagging machines should translate into a discount on flood insurance for residents along the Des Plaines River, Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia said.
Last month's damage could have been worse without flood-control efforts, he says, so residents should be rewarded with something similar to a good driver rate discount on car insurance.
"We can prove the money that we spent saved them millions and millions of dollars," Arredia said.
While federal emergency officials say any additional discount would be based solely on a community's flood-control efforts, Arredia has reached out for congressional support. He said he plans to speak with Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, and Republican Congressman Peter Roskam this week about his push.
In 2005, Des Plaines bought three sandbagging machines at $15,000 each. They helped stave off flood waters last month. Each machine fills more than 1,000 sandbags an hour, easing the burden on volunteers. Arredia has recommended buying five more.
A pumping station built as part of the Levee 50 project, and jersey walls the city erected also helped buffer city residents from the overflowing river. The pumping station, which used federal and state dollars, held back 9 feet of water from nearly 200 homes, the mayor said.
The August flooding and storm damage did hit the city hard. It cost Des Plaines $2.4 million, mostly due to widespread power outages, according to the city. Des Plaines is hoping to recoup at least some of the money from federal officials, but there hasn't been a ruling yet on whether the flood qualifies for federal disaster relief.
As president of the Northwest Municipal Conference suburban alliance, Arredia also is asking neighboring river towns to push for similar flood insurance discounts.
Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Wheeling in the early 1990s entered a federal program that gives residents premium discounts based on how the towns implement local mitigation, outreach and educational activities. They are among 1,049 communities participating in the program.
Des Plaines last won a discount in 2003. Residents currently get a 15 percent reduction, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Butch Kinerney said.
If the city moved to at least the next level in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System, the discount would increase to 20 percent. Moving down a level means an additional cut of 5 percentage points.
Half of the premium people pay goes to a flood insurance fund to pay out claims. The remainder is split among the insurance agent (15 percent), insurance company (15 percent) and FEMA (20 percent).
There is incentive for federal officials to back discounted rates since it encourages more flood-control efforts to save the agency money in the future, Kinerney said.
"We get a little less in income but the theory is we pay less," he said.
More information on the National Flood Insurance Program, including what coverage might cost at different addresses, is available at www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/index.jsp.