HAVANA – Funding to the Northwest Florida Water Management District to improve and complete flood hazard maps totals $16.8 million with a recent grant of $1.9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The grant was approved by the District governing board this week and will improve flood risk maps primarily in Gadsden, Gulf, Calhoun, Leon and Liberty counties.
“FEMA notified us of additional grant funding under its new program, RISK MAP, to fill deficiencies that were recognized in processing flood hazard maps of the Apalachicola and Ochlockonee river basins,” said Ron Bartel, District Director of Resource Management. “This work will also support outreach for our coastal counties, including upgrades of our website, NWFWMDfloodmaps.com.”
“I am pleased with the diligent work of District staff that has persuaded FEMA to continue funding for data collection that will serve many water resource purposes,” said District Executive Director Douglas Barr. “More accurate flood maps and flood elevation data across northwest Florida will improve stormwater engineering and flood prevention planning and help protect lives and property.”
Actual cash match spent to date from the District’s general revenue source is about $133,326. Additionally, local governments have provided cash matches of $264,987 and in-kind efforts to help the District achieve comprehensive flood hazard mapping.
The public may access data at the NOAA Coastal Service Center Digital Coast: Data Access Viewer, http://csc-s-maps-q.csc.noaa.gov/dataviewer/viewer.html or view a somewhat coarser version at USGS, http://nmviewogc.cr.usgs.gov/viewer.htm. The District’s web site, NWFWMDfloodmaps.com, also provides information about Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and will update detailed data sets as they become available.
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