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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Valmeyer, Illinois <br /> <br />PROJECT BACKGROUND <br /> <br />Prior to 1993, the Village of Valmeyer was a small farming community of <br />approximately 900 residents in southwestern Illinois. The Village is located 5 miles east <br />of the Mississippi River, just south of St. Louis, Missouri. The Village is protected by <br />levees and consequently has rare but extreme flood events. In the Great Flood of 1993, <br />the Village experienced record flooding. The 1993 flood inundated almost the entire <br />Village for months. It caused substantial damage to over two hundred homes. <br /> <br />MITIGATION MEASURES EMPLOYED <br /> <br />Rather than rebuild in tl1e wide Mississippi River floodplain, the Village utilized funds <br />from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Illinois Department of Commerce and <br />Community Affairs and the Economic Development Administration to permanently <br />mitigate any future flood damages. The Village Implemented an acquisition project to <br />acquire 242 properties, many of tl1em substantially damaged. An additional 92 <br />structures were acquired using National Flood Insurance Program Section 1362 <br />funding (which is no longer available). To completely mitigate the threat of flooding, <br />the entire Village relocated three miles away to a bluff overlooking the site of the <br />former Village. <br /> <br />PROJECT BENEFITS <br /> <br />The acquisition project moved quickly and within 2 years nearly the entire flood- <br />ravaged Village had been acquired and demolished. The site of Old Valmeyer has bl'Cn <br />dedicated to open space and will be used for recreation and farming purposes. The <br />Village has successfully relocated above the floodplain, and most original town <br />residents now live in the "New Valmeyer". The new Village includes residential areas, <br />commercial and industrial districts, school buildings, churches, and public offices. <br />Located within commuting distance of St. Louis, New Valmeyer is a prosperous <br />community experiencing rapid growth. <br /> <br />PROJECT COST <br />$8,345,914 <br /> <br />PROJECT FUNDING <br />$6,259,435 in FEMA-HMGP (75%); 2,086,478 in Illinois Department of <br />Commerce and Community Affairs (25%) <br />