07-02-2025
City of Mitchell, FEMA reach agreement to remove flood-prone homes along Dry Run Creek
Feb. 6—MITCHELL — The Mitchell City Council has approved an agreement with the state of South Dakota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove homes in the 500 block of West Ash Avenue over flood concerns.
Residents on West Ash Avenue have requested the city's aid in relocating from the flood-prone Dry Run Creek area after the recent flood events in 2019 and 2024. The city is also taking proactive steps to identify other areas of the city prone to flooding and offer homeowners a way forward.
"Flooding isn't a bad thing if it's controlled. Flooding is a bad thing when it affects homeowners," said Joe Schroeder, Mitchell public works director.
Two homes with detached garages on West Ash Avenue will be purchased and then demolished. The city of Mitchell will be paying for 15% of the estimated project, or about $43,942. The cost to Mitchell for 504 W. Ash Ave. is $18,690, and the cost to the city for the lots of 512 and 514 W Ash Ave. is $25,252. The total project is an estimated $292,950, with FEMA paying 75% and the state of South Dakota responsible for 10%.
The probability of a 500-year flood is based on the chance of it happening today, not over the course of 500 years. In other words, each new day wipes the slate clean and a flood could happen each day of the calendar year.
"FEMA is really trying to get away from the 500-year flood (vocabulary) because it creates the misconception that we've got time here," City Planner Mark Jenniges told the Mitchell Republic. "You think, 'Well, we just had a 100-year flood,' but no. Every day or every hour, you have a 0.2% chance of that event happening and every day, you have a 1% chance of it. So you could have the 1% (rain event) four days in a row, right? But then you might go the next 150 years without having it."
The FEMA program is voluntary for homeowners. Homes will be demolished and homeowners will be assisted with relocation. The city will then own the property to further reduce potential disaster relief in that area, with a deed restriction that the property can only ever be used for parkland. A city trail currently runs behind these homes.
The council, at their Feb. 3 regular meeting, agreed to receive aid from the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Program, which acts to "categorically shift the federal focus away from reactive disaster spending," according to FEMA's website.
"The only time we do this is when (homeowners) bring it to us," Schroeder told the council. "They are able to withdraw at any time, but at this time they wish to move forward."
The homeowner at 516 W. Ash Ave. has not joined the voluntary program, but can do so in the future. This will be the only home to remain on West Ash Avenue between South Wisconsin Street and South Edmunds Street.
Jenniges put the paperwork together and submitted the grant request on behalf of the Public Works department. The agreement is for the city to cover 15% of the project cost. However, the city's application letters stated a commitment to pay for 25% of the cost and any additional expenses over the agreed upon amount, signed by Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson.
FEMA is to release an updated floodplain map for eastern South Dakota in May 2026. The map project began in 2016 and is just now getting toward the end phase for Davison County, according to Jenniges. Until that map is finalized, the city uses the best available information on hand to make zoning approvals in regard to potential floods inside of city limits.
The city of Mitchell has partnered with FEMA in the past to remove structures from floodplains within city limits. In 2021, the structure at 508 W. Ash Ave. was torn down a year and a half after a FEMA grant was agreed to by the city.
"Removal, no matter what, is going to take a day. It's paperwork that takes a year and a half," Schroeder said.
