Weissport Borough Council is hoping to meet again with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to request to have the town’s floodplain level upgraded.

Councilman Tom Ketchledge said Weissport has been at the worst level, Level AE, since the 1950s.

According to FEMA’s website, “The National Flood Insurance Program is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is delivered to the public by a network of approximately 60 insurance companies and the NFIP Direct.

The NFIP provides flood insurance to property owners, renters and businesses, and having this coverage helps them recover faster when floodwaters recede. The NFIP works with communities that are required to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that help mitigate flooding effects.

Homes and businesses in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance.

“Back in 1955 is the last time we had a flood,” Ketchledge told council.

“The levee was half built; we finished it in 1956 and we haven’t had a flood since, but nothing changed. In the 1970s, the Francis Walter dam was built to help control the floodplains, and still nothing changed. In the 1980s, Beltzville and Mauch Chunk were built, and still nothing was changed.”

Because Weissport is still listed in the worst floodplain, all homeowners are required to have flood insurance on a mortgage at the highest premiums.

If FEMA were to raise the floodplain level, the insurance premiums would be reduced.