Sikeston flood plain map revised

SIKESTON — After a long, tedious process that took years, the City of Sikeston has a reduction in the flood zone.

According to Sikeston City Manager Jonathan Douglass, Sikeston received approval of a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) that shrinks the flood plain designations in the northern portion of Sikeston.

“This study and requested map revision was directly related to the flood map changes that were effective in June of 2012, which put many unsuspecting residents into the flood hazard area,” Douglass said. “While there are still steps that need to be taken to further reduce the flood zone in this area, the approval of this LOMR is an important step and a victory for Sikeston residents.”

The approval comes after a three-year study that began in the August of 2015. Sikeston Public Works Director Jay Lancaster said there are several factors that caused the process to take so long, which began after the changes in 2012.

“After I came on board at the end of 2013, the City had already been contracting with a different consultant who was working on correcting the problems, but were not making the progress we sought,” Lancaster said. “So in 2014, we started exploring new options, and interviewing consultants.”

In mid-2015, Lancaster said Sikeston contracted with Allgeier Martin Consulting Engineers who began working on the data collection. Part of the process included collecting all of the data from the previous consultant, which was completed in early 2016.

“During this time, there was a major technology change, and where consultants had been conducting studies using survey data, it now shifted to using LIDAR data which is a laser based surveying method conducted from an airplane,” Lancaster said. “This was a fairly new way of processing this data, and there was still a big learning curve. Our previous consultant had used this data, and while their method may have worked for the majority of the state, it was not processed at a level of detail appropriate for Sikeston, where the terrain is so flat.”

Once Allgeier Martin began processing the data at an appropriate level of detail, ditches began showing up that were not originally shown and hundreds of acres of drainage area were able to be removed from the models.

“Along the way, we were steadily having to go out and verify various elevations in the field,” Lancaster said. “In addition to the technical processing, there was also time along the way to keep the public in the loop. We had a number of public meetings to educate and inform the public so that there were no surprises. These included occasional private meetings with large landowners and the county.”

Lancaster said another factor in time was the review process itself.

“We submitted the application for the Letter of Map Revision (or LOMR) in July of 2018, and we received our approval in late September of 2019,” Lancaster said. “And while this process did take a long time, our consultant that helps communities apply for these on a regular basis said that it was not uncommon for the process to take years.”

While the process did take time, it was successful as a good majority of Sikeston in the Salcedo Road/Kindergarten Center area who was placed in the flood zone in 2012 has been removed. While 100% of the residents weren’t removed, Lancaster said the City is still exploring options to seek further improvements. The LOMR officially goes into effect in February of 2020.

“As floodplain managers, though, we are always looking to find ways to continually educate the public, and find ways to make more improvements so that we can better promote development in the City of Sikeston,” Lancaster said.

Anyone with questions about the change or other flood plain related questions can contact Lancaster at City Hall (573) 471-2512.

“I would just like to thank everyone for their patience during this process,” Lancaster said. “It probably appeared at times like things were not happening, but in the end, we have been able to show that the work was done and done well, and we achieved a big win for the City of Sikeston.”