A meeting between Wrightsville Beach town leaders and coastal engineering firm Applied Technology and Management (ATM) June 23 may have resulted in a decision as to whether the town should appeal FEMA’s preliminary floodplain maps. However, an unexpected development sidelined the meeting.
Town manager Tim Owens said new LIDAR elevation data for Wrightsville Beach just became available. FEMA uses LIDAR elevation points, data obtained remotely through laser technology, to map flood zones. But FEMA created the preliminary maps for Wrightsville Beach from 2001 LIDAR data, Owens said, and the new elevation data is from 2014.
ATM’s separate study, which effectively moved some of Harbor Island into a lower-risk flood zone, used a combination of 2001 LIDAR data, 2010 LIDAR data and actual elevation points obtained by a surveyor.
Owens said he is currently attempting to contact the state to determine how the new LIDAR data will affect FEMA’s preliminary maps, ATM’s study and the town’s potential appeal. As soon as he gets answers from the state, he said he would schedule a new meeting between the board of aldermen and ATM.
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