Many mortgage companies require property owners to submit information regarding the "flood zone" designation of their property as part of a loan application. This information is also needed by insurance brokers in order to determine the annual premium for a flood insurance policy. If an address is designated as a Zone AE, this means that the property is potentially subject to flooding during a 100-year storm (your mortgage company must require flood insurance as a condition of the loan). There are several areas in the City designated as Zone AE. These areas are usually near or adjacent to one of the five flood control channels (creeks) that bisect the city. Other flood zone designations are Zone X (shaded), potentially subject to flooding during a 500-year storm event, or Zone X (unshaded), the lowest risk zone classification available and defined as "areas determined to be outside 500-year flood plain."

The flood zone designation for all properties in Newark is found on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) prepared by FEMA, Community-Panel No. 060009 0005 F, which has an effective (last revised) date of February 9, 2000. If you need assistance in determing the flood zone designation for your property, please contact the Public Works Engineering Division at (510) 578-4320. We will need the property address or the assessor's parcel number.

We in the Bay Area are fortunate to live in one of the most desirable areas in the country, and we enjoy a climate and scenic beauty among the best in the world. One of the features that makes the area so beautiful is San Francisco Bay. But the bay, like many natural wonders, is still at risk of pollution. Even though you may live several miles from the bay, you may be polluting the bay without knowing it. Motor oil, paint products, pet wastes and chemicals we use in our homes and gardens are washed day after day into street gutters and storm drains by rain water, water from lawn irrigation and hosing down sidewalks and driveways. This mix of rain and other water is called urban runoff. Urban runoff and all its pollutants flow untreated through the storm drain system into local creeks and flood control channels and then directly into the Bay, where it can harm wildlife, pollute fisheries and ruin recreation areas.

No doubt by now you have seen the message stenciled on drain inlets in streets in Newark and throughout the Bay Area telling everyone "No Dumping - - Drains to Bay." This is one part of the public education component of the Storm Water Management Program. Other storm water management program components include regular street sweeping (try not to park on your street on street sweeping days - see schedule on the Street Sweeping Schedule), litter control, the cleaning of curb inlets before the beginning of the rainy season, inspections of all industrial and commercial businesses and apartment complexes to ensure they don't contribute to storm water pollution as part of their daily operations, and requiring pollution controls to be included in the design and construction of new developments.

In order for the program to remain effective, we all need to continue to do our part to minimize pollution of urban runoff.

Remember, only rain down the drain!