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Cobb Finley engineer warns draft FEMA maps expand 100-year floodplain in Brooklyn area
Summary
Candace Ward of Cobb Finley briefed the La Porte Drainage and Flooding Committee on draft FEMA floodplain maps released Feb. 4, noting large increases in the 100-year zone around Brooklyn and that many completed detention ponds may not be included in the models because of a 2020 cutoff.
Candace Ward of Cobb Finley told the committee the draft FEMA floodplain maps released for technical review on Feb. 4 show substantial changes, particularly in the Brooklyn area where areas previously mapped as 500-year are now shown as 100-year. Ward said the maps were modeled using updated 2018 lidar and that FEMA completed modeling in 2023 but that a DHS shutdown has delayed delivery of the underlying hydraulic models.
Ward urged the committee to request the model files so the city can comment: "We will have 30 days to comment on the models once we receive them," she said. Ward cautioned the committee that FEMA set a cutoff (about 2020) for which constructed detention ponds are reflected in the models, and many local ponds built after that date may not be included unless the city provides model inputs.
Why it matters: changes to the 100-year floodplain affect where construction and development are restricted and can trigger mortgage-required flood insurance for homeowners who are newly mapped into the 100-year zone. Ward said mapping changes do not directly alter FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 pricing, but lenders may require coverage for properties moved into the 100-year zone.
Committee members pressed Ward on steps the city can take. She described the public comment and appeal timeline: after models are received the community will get 30 days to comment on the models, the draft maps then enter an appeal/protest period of at least six months, and once final maps are issued communities have six months to adopt regulations to the new maps. Ward said the team will push to have completed detention ponds incorporated so the maps more accurately reflect actual risk reductions.
The committee asked for follow-up: staff and consultants plan to obtain the models, confirm which ponds are included, and return with revised impact assessments showing how completed projects affect mapped flood elevations.
