Seems rktman is right on the ball. The BFE isn't known so the surveyor has to apply for it through the DNR. Once that's had, they fill out the LOMA and MT-EZ forms and apply for letter of exclusion from FEMA. Since I now understand it a little better looks like we'll be out about $1K in fees and flood insurance in the interim since we're basically having to prove common sense. This is all very frustrating since the guy 3 cubes over is the keeper of GIS maps (I work for the Army Corps of engineers although I'm not a civil) which determine the FIRM's. I know what the BFE is but have to get it documented through the channels to make things work. I could understand if it was close but there's easily a 30 foot margin above the BFE+2ft. Thanks for you inputs. I love this site.

We're on an acre beside a creek (actually was dug as a drainage ditch nearly 100 years ago). The back corner of our lot is in a 100-year flood plain. I think the FEMA model assumes our *house* is built on that part -- not. I'm not worried that we would flood due to the ditch. I'm worried we would flood due to an electrical outage making our sump fail to bail the groundwater from a heavy rain. The FEMA chart shows three categories, something like: Building and Contents, Building Only, Contents Only. My questions are: 1) Does Contents Only mean coverage for the furnaces, water heater, etc. or just "furnishings"; 2) Can we get Contents Only? Still waiting to hear back from State Farm. (Know they are busy after flooding in WI and IL.)

When we were buying a house in Minnesota, a week or so before closing we received a lettter from someone (maybe our lender or maybe our insurance agent) saying that we needed to get flood insurance, before the deal could go forward. The house was across the street from a sizable lake (Bald Eagle Lake) but the property was about 50 feet or so above the level of the lake, and there were several square miles of land on the opposite side of the lake that was all less than 10 feet above the lake level., We protested and discovered that the person whose job it is to read the flood maps, simply wasn't very good at reading maps, and he thought the house was on the other side of the lake. We got a letter stating that fact and proceeded to closing without getting flood insurance. Maybe the guy got tired of living in Minnesota, and moved to Deleware to do flood map lookups there. :-)

What a day! Just after I posted my first post I saw my friend Dale across the street come home from taking the dog for a walk. If anyone knows anything about basement flooding it is Dale because his has flooded many times. He has 3 sump pumps taking water out of the house all the time. I waited until I saw him because he is a policeman and I knew he worked late last night so I didn't want to bother him earlier in case he was sleeping. As soon as I told him about the basement he said "let me get my pump" He got a lot of the water out of the one room and even though there was still water on that side he moved into the laundry room because that is where the water was coming in. I had a foot of water. The pump worked good for a while. Dale left me with the pumt and said he was taking his family to the show but thought maybe he should wait. I told him to go. He said once the water gets lower to use a broom to push it to the pump which I did for hours but it wasn't doing a whole lot. Neighbour Cheryl came over and asked if she could help and I told her I was okay. She came over after an 1 1/2 of me sweeping and said she would help because she had rubber boots. I was wearing my winter boots but standing on a piece of rug and a hose that was keeping me feet dry. I gave in and gave Cheryl the broom and I used a sponge mop to move the water towards the pump. Three hours later Dale came home and just about scared us to death when he said something through the basement window. LOL He came downstairs and said we moved a lot of water but he said maybe the pump wasn't low enough so he took off the storm drain grate and put the pump in there. In no time the laundry room was almost free of water. Dale went on the other side of the basement and using my plastic snow shovel pushed the rest of the water into the laundry room. I was pleased at how much water we rmoved. Dale left the pump because he said with the amount of water in the ground some of it was going to come back into the house and right away it started too. I told him to go home. By this time my boots were water logged. Yuck. Cheryl helped me clean out some plastic dishes from one of the metal cupboards that I am getting rid of and I still have lots of china and crystal pieces to pack up. I tossed all the plastic because it has been in the baesment for a long time and I am sure it has absorbed the smell of the basement. Earlier I had asked Dale if he knew anyone that wanted metal for scrap and he said his brother would come and take it so he called him and told him what I had. I have the 2 metal cupboards, a fridge door, an old steel lawn mower, lots of chains and metal things under my dads workbench that are in metal pails. I even have an 8 foot length of copper pipe. All kinds of other things too. Dale said since I am giving his brother all the metal I was to ask him to clean out my eavestroughs which need cleaning out badly. After Dale and Cheryl left I was planning on taking a shower but forgot I couldn't. Darn it! LOL I put some water in the tub with the plug in and took a quick sponge bath to get the dirty water off my body. I felt much better. I called my brother David and asked if he got my message from when I called earlier and he said his daughter didn't give it to him. I told him about the flooding and I said I would need some help cleaning up the basement once the city guys came. He said he had a power washer but couldn't help me until after the holiday which I said was fine because I Dales brother had to remove the metal junk. I told him lots of stuff would have to be thrown out - stuff that belonged to the family that has been down there forever. I said it should have been cleaned out long ago. He promised to help me but knowing my brother as I do and his memory - he will forget. Nothing unusual about that. LOL My friend Donna called around 10 pm just after I got finished cleaning up and invited me over for something to eat. Against my better judgement I left the air conditioner running on low and while I was at Donna's it poured out again and then a cold front moved in. I came into the house and turned off the air and opened the windows. I went down the basement and wow - it was flooded again! I changed into my shorts and put my boots on, plugged in the pump and went downstairs. I turned on the pump - I was afraid I was going to be electrocuted. LOL I put the pump into the sewer and the hose popped off and the water went into my face and my eyes. I put the hose back on, turned it on and it popped off again. I gave up! Cheryl and I had closed the basement window to keep the bugs out around the hose and must have closed it a little to tight so when the water went out of the hose it couldn't get past the window so the hose popped off. I was soaked to the skin and the dirty, germy sewer water got into my eyes. I took another hot sponge bath and really rinsed my eyes out well. I hope I don't get an infection. So now I am getting ready for bed. Sunday morning is almost here and I don't know if the City guys are going to show up or not. I'll have to get the pump working again in a few hours but I dread putting on my boots because they are soaked through. I am soooo tired and sore from all the hours of sweeping the water. One good thing about all of this is that the water was pretty clean (no sewage that I could see) and that I am getting someone to remove all that metal junk from my basement and my eavestroughs cleaned out. Plus I do have some wonderful neighbours. Sorry this update was long. Typing what happened helps me alleviate my stress. Anne