Summit I was held in September 1999 and was attended by more than 100 community officials. Discussions at the summit centered on the need to improve flood protection in the basin by managing floodplain development more consistently. In order to have a consistent approach, several ingredients were identified which are currently lacking in the basin. These include, but are not limited to, consistent or uniform local ordinances, updated flood boundary maps, and cooperation among local, state, and federal flood management programs. The reasons behind the program inconsistencies in the basin are many and varied.
Local ordinances differ in scope and detail.
Other cities impose little or no restrictions on development within the floodplain. These limitations may prevent counties from effectively addressing local flood problems and prevents county residents from qualifying for lower insurance rates. In addition, existing funding and resources may not currently support an effective county floodplain program. Unfortunately, many communities have used their limited resources to adopt floodplain ordinances without regard to neighboring communities or downstream effects on the floodplain. Compounding the problem, many of the existing floodplain maps for communities in the basin are old and outdated.