Levee blame leaves many hanging
By: Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer
March 26, 2009
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| Staying above water Pete Hughes does not have a mortgage on his Redwood Shores home, meaning he would be off the hook for flood insurance if the levee is not upgraded. (Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt/Special to The Examiner) |
REDWOOD SHORES — The clock is ticking on Redwood Shores resident Carol Ford and nearly 4,500 other homeowners like her. They will be forced to pay hundreds of dollars a year for flood insurance on their homes if a levee at the nearby San Carlos Airport is not fixed by next year.
But a year after the problem was first discovered, Redwood City, San Carlos and San Mateo County remain locked in a jurisdictional battle, each saying the others are responsible for fixing the problem.
Ford said Redwood City should have taken responsibility.
“They let us know about this problem a year ago, and they got everybody all excited,” she said. “Since then, couldn’t they have built this wall?”
Last year, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued new flood maps, it determined that waterfront neighborhood Redwood Shores was at risk of flooding because the stretch of levee near the San Carlos Airport was not high enough to withstand a deluge from San Francisco Bay. It soon became clear that simply raising the levee wouldn’t work, as they could impede the landing strip and be in violation of Federal Aviation Administration rules.
Unless the levee problem is fixed by the time the final FEMA map is released — currently scheduled for the middle of 2010 — every resident with a mortgage in the 4,500-home neighborhood will be required to purchase flood insurance, which can cost up to $849 annually for the building only, according to the National Flood Insurance Program.
On Wednesday, leaders of the two cities and the county will sit down together and determine who’s responsible for fixing the levees.
Redwood City maintains it’s the county’s problem, said Peter Vorametsanti, the city’s senior civil engineer.
“The levee really belongs to the airport,” he said. “Part of the levee may reside in ... Redwood City, but because the county has been maintaining that levee as a public entity, they are expected to continue to do so.”
While the county is hiring an environmental consultant to look at possible solutions to the problem, Public Works Director Jim Porter was careful to say it has not taken responsibility for paying costs of the entire fix.
Meanwhile, San Carlos Assistant City Manager Brian Moura said so little of the levee in question is in San Carlos that the city is just a “bit player” in the problem.
Only residents like Pete Hughes, who do not have a mortgage, will not be required to buy flood insurance.
“As I understand it, there’s too many government jurisdictions involved to come up with a solution,” he said.
County Superintendent Rich Gordon, whose district includes Redwood Shores, said the cities and county have not been working cooperatively.
“Where things started, to be blunt, it was with finger-pointing, with [people saying], ‘It’s your problem; no, it’s your problem.’ And it’s just not productive,” he said.
Water war
Upgrades to a Peninsula levee have many pointing fingers.
$348 to $388
Cost for flood insurance before a FEMA risk designation
$800 to $2,000
Cost for flood insuranceafter a FEMA risk designation
4,500
Redwood Shores homes that may have to buy flood insurance
12
Months, approximately, before FEMA will make its final designation
12 to 18
Months before the new levee solution could be designed
$250,000
Cost of levee design, paid for by San Mateo County
3
Entities that disagree about who is responsible for the levee fix: San Mateo County, Redwood City and San Carlos
Sources: Federal Emergency Management Agency, San Mateo County, Redwood City
