TOWANDA - Michael Yount's house and two outbuildings sit right in the middle of the Money Creek flood plain, according to a state flood plain map.

But Yount said, "It's never flooded here. We've had four or five 100-year floods in the last 25 years. The water is never high enough to come into the house."

The water stops about 15 feet from the back door of his walk-in basement, he said.

Just the same, because the map shows the buildings in the flood plain and because Yount has a mortgage, his mortgage provider requires him to have flood insurance - something that costs him about $500 a year.

Michael Tellman lives near Yount in rural Towanda. The flood plain map also shows much of his property in the flood area.

"When we built the barn, I had it surveyed to make sure it wasn't in the flood plain," Tellman said.

While the land is "very close," the survey revealed it was shy of the flood plain area. So, Tellman filed an amendment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it was approved and he doesn't have to carry flood insurance.

That's the kind of information the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and FEMA representatives will be looking for when they reveal new digital flood plain maps at an open house Thursday in Bloomington.

While the DNR's Shelly Fuller said there is a big difference between the old and new maps, "The maps are only so accurate. We depend on the local eye to ensure the maps' accuracy."

DNR is in the process of creating new digital, upgraded maps for areas throughout the state. When a map is completed, that county and its residents have 30 days to review it.

The maps are used by the National Flood Insurance Program to determine what properties will be required to have flood plain insurance and how much it will cost affected property owners.

Properties that have a mortgage, are located within the flood plain and are in a county that participates in the flood insurance program are required to have insurance.

"If they are in a high-risk zone, insurance can be high," Fuller noted.

On the flip side, if homes or buildings are in a flood plain and sustain flood damage, the program allows them to recover some of the damage cost through flood insurance.

Fuller said counties have the option of participating in, or opting out of the National Flood Insurance Program.

McLean County is participating because it's the only way residents can get flood insurance, said Phil Dick, director of the McLean County Zoning Department.

"If we don't participate and there's a federal disaster, FEMA is not obligated to help," he said.

By participating in the program, the county agrees to follow certain criteria for structures built in a flood plain area, including limiting development in the flood plain. McLean County requires a variance for new structures built in the flood-prone area and the building's first floor has to be built a foot above the flood plain.

Dick said the flood plain regulations have been in place since 1985. As a result, he said, few houses built since then are in the flood plain, adding even the new flood plain maps are not accurate as far as typography goes. The maps can't show if a house is built on a hill, for instance.

Tellman said when new flood plain maps came out in 1999, he had to get re-certified to avoid paying the mandatory flood plain insurance. He suspects he will have to do it again with the new maps.

Fuller encouraged residents to bring such paperwork to the open house. Representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and FEMA will be available to answer questions and give updated information on amendments individual property owners have filed.

Information on filing a map amendment also will be available.

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Open house

What: McLean County flood plain open house

When:: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday

Where:: Government Center, 115 E. Washington St., Room 400, Bloomington

What you'll find:: New flood insurance rate maps, a new flood insurance study report, and information about the National Flood Insurance Program, and filing amendments

More information: www.illinoisfloodmaps.org