SPEEDWAY — Speedway homeowners recently learned their flood insurance costs will go down in January after Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the town the go-ahead to revise its flood map.
For 15 years, Jessica Crooke and everyone else in her neighborhood have paid more than they needed for flood insurance.
"We went from an $800 flood insurance payment to over $2,000 in the span of just a couple years," Crooke said.
FEMA sets the price for flood insurance, and the town knew it had to go through the agency to get anything approved, resulting in the Dry Run Diversion Drainage project, which started in 2015.
MORE INFORMATION | FEMA flood maps
"For people in Speedway that are currently in a flood plain, their house is in a flood plain, the result of this project is that it will no longer be in a flood plain," Speedway Town Manager Jacob Blasdel said.
At a meeting Thursday night, Blasdel said that on Jan. 24, 2020, those who own homes or businesses in the Dry Run Diversion area will be able to get flood insurance at a lower rate.
VIDEO | Speedway's public forum
"The area has a reduced risk of flood, but of course, it hasn't been completely eliminated," Blasdel said. "It's just a lesser risk there'll be a flood."
Because the risk isn't eliminated, the town still encourages people to get flood insurance, but Blasdel knows some people — like Crooke — might not decide to get it at all since it won't be required.
"We've never had any issues with water in our basement anywhere, so we're going to not get flood insurance anymore," Crooke said. "That'll be our choice."
