Using Multi-Objective Management to Reduce Flood Losses in Your

You can check the government pages in the telephone book and the names
of private organizations in the white or yellow pages. If you can’t find the right
office, use the list of national offices in Appendix A. You may have to call
Washington, but they can tell you the location and phone number of the office of
their agency closest to you.
You can expect to have to explain your situation several times and be
routed to different people. When possible, obtain the name as well as the
telephone number of someone in the office you are referred to. Above all, be
patient, follow leads, and line up alternative sources to talk to.
For example, if you want to know more about the rules for construction in
wetlands, check the section of this guidebook on “wetlands protection” in Chapter
3. It notes that more information can be obtained from local permit and
engineering offices. Those folks can tell you who to contact in a stormwater
management agency or the Corps of Engineers.
M-O-M planning assistance
The agencies and organizations listed in each section of this guidebook can tell
you about the more common assistance programs. And each one can give you
leads to more programs.
Help in organizing and conducting the M-O-M planning may be available
from a local, regional, or state planning agency or a private organization. The
National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program
provides staff support for local planning under certain conditions. If they can’t
help with the whole thing, they may be able to help with some tricky parts, like
providing a facilitator for an all-day community input workshop.
Another source of assistance is a private consultant. Planning and
engineering firms usually have personnel skilled in the various flood loss reduction
measures and the planning process.
Define the Problems
The “problem” to be addressed by your plan is not just the flood problem. It
includes all the concerns raised by the other groups involved in your effort.
Getting everyone to agree on a problem statement is the first step in getting them
to agree on goals and solutions.
The flood problem
First, identify your planning area. Is it your immediate neighborhood, the whole
city, or everything in the watershed There should be a written description of the
location and types of flooding that occur in your area.
The flood data listed in Chapter 2 should be sufficient for planning
purposes. Most of what is needed is available in existing studies, so you probably
don’t need to conduct studies to develop new flood maps or data.
However, if people get wet, they consider it flooding and they’ll want you
to address it. Therefore, this step should review flooding from small ditches,
flooding in depressional areas, and sanitary or storm sewer backup that isn’t
shown on your Flood Insurance Rate Map or covered in existing engineering
studies.
50