Flood Plains in Welch and McDowell County, WV

This week I am zooming in on Welch, WV to look at the flood plains. My earlier post "Changing Weather Patterns: Flooding in McDowell Co Watershed" focuses on historic flooding events and highlights gauges throughout the county's watershed, so be sure to check that out if you are interested in learning more. According to Risk Factor, "There are 1,678 properties in Welch that have greater than a 26% chance of being severely affected by flooding over the next 30 years. This represents 44% of all properties in Welch." Risk Factor also has a variety of maps highlighting these at-risk properties near Welch (as seen by the blue and dark blue dots below where the darker blue represents grater risk of flooding). 

Risk Factor also finds that 41 of 63 miles of road near Welch are at extreme risk for flooding. Smart Site Plan has some free tools powered by Esri and WV.gov that show maps of the 100 year flood plains near Welch, WV. As you can see in this map below, many roads and properties near Welch are at risk for flooding. 

I cannot find any open sourced flood plain maps of McDowell County or Welch from FEMA or published by the state of West Virginia. These sites look promising, but to date have no complete maps of these regions: 

• FEMA WV Flood Maps
• WV Flood Tool

Risk Factor notes that there are no protective or preventative measures in place for flooding events in Welch. To solve this problem, there is a proposal for a Voluntary Flood Plain Buyout in parts of McDowell County, WV with the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service as the lead agency. The abstract of this buyout plan is as follows:

Residents in the Elkhorn Creek/Tug Fork River Watershed (Elkhorn/Tug Fork Watershed) are subjected to repetitive flooding because of concentrated development in the floodplain. The West Virginia Flood Tool and supplemental information were used to quantify flood damages for 128 homes, structures, and outbuildings to determine a cost-effective solution. The watershed is distressed, with low per capita income and very low housing values. No structural measures were feasible in addressing the flooding problem. The recommended solution is a voluntary floodplain buyout for approximately 30 properties. Total project cost is $2.8 million. The benefit-to-cost ratio is 1.7 to 1.0.

They are proposing the Voluntary Flood Plain Buyout as the best solution based on the following reasons:

1. It best meets the opportunities and needs of local sponsors.
2. It completely removes the floodplain risks to life and property for the participants.
3. It can be accomplished in a short period of time, quickly reducing future exposure to
4. flood-related hazards.
5. It restores the floodplain function and will improve floodplain and riparian habitat.
6. There will be a minor reduction in post-storm runoff since impervious surfaces will
7. be removed and replaced with vegetation.
8. It reduces the economic burden to federal, state, and local governments by providing
9. a solution that does not require perpetual operation and maintenance (O&M).
10. It is an environmentally friendly solution.
11. It maximizes the net benefits to the nation.

This is the map of the areas they propose to employ the voluntary buyout (in the purple regions):

The information gathered this week suggests that the land use in the Tug Fork Watershed of McDowell County is not appropriate. Due to the mountainous terrain, many of the properties, roads, and other infrastructure are located in flood plains. There seems to be not mitigation efforts in place and the West Virginia University Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic, in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service has proposed the best solution in some parts of the county is to offer a voluntary buyout for properties located in these flood plains.