Floodplain Management

Reducing Flood Damage

Floodplain management is the implementation of preventative or corrective measures taken by a community to reduce the impacts of flood damage.

This can include emergency preparedness plans, construction of flood control structures, or regulations that guide communities toward responsible building inside and near the floodplain.

Common Floodplain Management Terms

• One Hundred Year Flood:  The 100-year flood, also called the base flood, is the flood that has a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
• Floodplain:  A floodplain is any land susceptible to being inundated by water.
• Floodway: A floodway is a channel of a river or other watercourse and adjacent land that must be reserved in order to pass the 100-year flood without increasing the elevation more than a designated height.
• Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM): The Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is designed to illustrate special flood hazard areas, e.g., the limits of the floodway, floodplain, and 100-year flood.
• Flood Insurance Study (FIS): The Flood Insurance Study (FIS) provides detailed information for a watercourse for which a detailed study has been performed. Your local flood insurance study can provide base flood elevations.