Floodplain Management

NFIP Overview

Abilene participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and has adopted and administers floodplain development requirements within the 100-year floodplain. The NFIP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and provides flood insurance at reasonable costs to homeowners and businesses in Abilene. Most structures built or substantially improved within the 100-year floodplain are required to be floodproofed either by elevating the building or designing the building to resist flood damage. The ultimate goals of the program are:

  • to provide (in some cases require) flood insurance;
  • to avoid loss of property and life due to flooding; 
  • to retain open spaces and cropland; 
  • to mitigate the releasing of pollutants into watercourses; and
  • to allow the natural storm water detention function of the floodplain to be intact.

Requirements, Applications, Codes and Resources

Structures within the 100-year floodplain must be flood proofed to 1 foot above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). Our staff will determine if your property is in the floodplain and what the BFE is. Most improvements within the floodplain require the homeowner to provide an certified elevation survey and a floodplain development permit. Once construction is completed a post-construction elevation survey is required to document that the improvements are properly flood proofed. The following documents provide greater detail on the program and requirements.