Report highlights efforts to reduce effects of flooding in Pasadena

While Pasadena living has many positives, there’s no doubt the possibility of flooding here is one of continuing concern, both for residents and City planners. Those concerns have been heightened over the years by past ground subsidence and large numbers of newcomers moving into areas that may be more prone to flooding. Add in weather event extremes as we’ve seen with recent history and you have a recipe for serious impact within our community. That’s why the City’s yearly Floodplain Management Plan’s Progress Report should be of interest to every resident.

This year’s comprehensive report is a distilling of every significant initiative the City has undertaken over the previous 12-month period to mitigate the effects of flooding in Pasadena. It catalogues the range of City initiatives from training and public education to placement of capital improvements infrastructure, long-term planning, repetitive loss property acquisition, drainage maintenance, cooperative programs with appropriate county agencies, volunteer projects and more.

There are some obvious benefits that follow these extensive efforts to mitigate the effects of flooding here. The avoidance of death or injury due to flooding naturally tops that list, but very real pocketbook issues are also strongly influenced by successes in flood mitigation damage.

A Community Rating System (CRS) score of seven or lower will ensure the most affordable flood insurance premiums for Pasadena properties—it could range as much as 45% less than non-compliant cities—even as it serves as a useful indicator of a community’s ability to reduce potential personal and property losses. As we achieve higher levels of protection due to improvements and resident awareness, we’ll enjoy a commensurate lowering of the cost of insurance for the decreased flooding potential.