Flood plain maps

Property owners along the Cape LaCroix and Walker creeks in Cape Girardeau could see lower flood insurance premiums, thanks to an updated flood plain map.

Many of the property owners haven't had flooding problems since millions of dollars were spent building a drainage system along the creeks' watershed, which stretches from the northern part of the city through the Kingshighway commercial area to the Mississippi River. But property owners -- residential and business -- have continued to pay federal flood insurance premiums.

For years, the city has tried to convince the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the Cape Girardeau flood plain map, on which flood insurance requirements are based, needed to be updated to reflect the drainage improvements.

The new maps, on display last week at a city-sponsored open house, change which properties are included in the flood plain -- and which used to be but aren't now.

At the open house, city staff members were on hand to answer questions and explain which properties would no longer be required to pay the federal flood insurance.

Getting the updated flood plain maps has taken a long time -- so long that the Federal Emergency Management Agency got a taste of the city's impatience over the delay. But now the new maps are in effect, and many property owners should be happy for the change.