Durbin Announces $1.5 Million FEMA Grant for Lake County
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Lake County will receive $1,577,922 in funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for flood control efforts.
“This funding will support important flood control efforts in Lake County,” said Durbin. “This federal funding will help reduce costs to local governments for emergency rescue, infrastructure repair, debris removal and emergency shelters. During a time when local communities are facing major budget shortfalls, this federal investment will make an important difference.”
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) – which coordinates the stormwater activities of over ninety local jurisdictions – will use today’s funding for the purchase and removal of eleven flood-prone properties located in five different repetitive flood problem areas. This project is a continuation of previous flood prone property acquisition work implemented by the SMC in 2003.
Buying flood-prone property is one of many approaches to mitigating natural flood hazards. Unlike other hazard mitigation techniques, however, such as elevating homes (e.g., on pilings) above flood levels or building a dike, voluntary purchase projects permanently reduce a community’s vulnerability to flooding by moving people out of harm’s way. Property purchased through this program is often used to create public open space such as parks, wildlife refuges, ball fields, etc.