Flood Plain Remapping

Overview

The federal government requires mapping floodplains in counties nationwide to designated “100-year floodplains.” These are areas that have a 1 percent risk of flooding in any given year – and are now being labeled as the “one percent chance floodplains”.

The current FEMA regulatory maps were initially defined nearly 30 years ago and have had limited updating. Johnson County and the 20 cities are working together to update Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulatory floodplain maps throughout the county. These maps identify areas of risk where stormwater may create problems for the health and safety of residents and their properties today and in the future.

The floodplain remapping goals are:

• To reduce the risk of flooding
• Minimize future property damage
• Protect the public's health and safety
• Coordinate with the development community to minimize the creation of future flooding problems that taxpayers will be responsible to pay for.

The new floodplain maps provide reclassified and designated floodplains that could mean one of four things for the owner of a home or business:

• The property was in a floodplain before remapping and it is still in the floodplain.
• The property was not in a floodplain before remapping and is still not in the floodplain.
• The property was in a floodplain, but is no longer in one.
• The property was not in a floodplain according to the existing map, but will be shown as being in a floodplain once the new maps take effect.

The biggest issue for most property owners will be whether they need flood insurance. Property owners should check with their lenders to determine if they need to purchase or continue to have flood insurance coverage.

For more information about floods, floodplains and flood insurance contact FEMA at www.fema.gov or call your city's floodplain administrator. To learn more about stormwater in Johnson County , go to stormwater@jocogov.org .

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JOHNSON COUNTY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
1800 W. 56 Highway
Olathe, KS 66061
Phone: (913) 715-8333
Fax: (913) 715-2453