Flooding is Kentucky’s most costly natural disaster, both in terms of financial loss and anguish suffered by victims. People cannot control the weather. We can, however, limit the damages that result from floods through proper floodplain management.

Floodplain Compliance

One vital part in floodplain management is recognizing areas that are prone to flooding and enforcing regulations regarding building structures or changing the land within a flood prone area. Changes to any stream, waterway, or flood prone area could result in further loss or degradation of property in/around/downstream of the area. Due to these possible outcomes any person or entity wishing to construct on/near or modify the land or waterway in a floodplain must file for construction permits with the Kentucky Division of Water.

In Harrison County, the Harrison County Emergency Management Agency has been charged with noting, delivering, and forwarding notices of violation to these construction requirements.

Further information on floodplain compliance, including links to the Kentucky Revised Statutes regarding compliance can be found at:
http://water.ky.gov/floodplain/Pages/FloodplainCompliance.aspx

Map Modernization and Updates

Kentucky is in the process of updating flood maps statewide with the goal of identifying flood hazards for areas that drain more than 1 square mile (640 acres). It is important to remember that every stream, large or small, has a floodplain and that any downstream structure may be damaged during flooding.

All communities within Harrison County are now being shown on a single set of countywide Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The most significant change is that the new maps will have an updated photographic base map that will improve the accuracy of floodplain determinations compared to the prior vector street map. With this update we have produced a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map that will be compatible with GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The improvements in spatial accuracy provided by the new base map, and the availability of electronic floodplain information should greatly enhance the ability to use the maps for planning, permitting, and insurance applications. The digital files will be available when these maps become effective.

All flood elevations shown in the FIS are now referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). As a result, effective elevation values from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) were adjusted downward by 0.64 foot. More than 264 miles of new approximate riverine floodplains have been generated in the county. New flood hazards resulting from these H&H analyses were mapped using more up-to-date topographic information.

Additional Information and Resources

• Harrison County Flood Insurance Study – December 2009
• Flood Hazard Mapping Fact Sheet
• Map Modernization Fact Sheet
• National Flood Insurance Program Summary of Coverage
• NFIP Map & Zone Grandfather Rules
• Information About the NFIP’s Grandfathering Rules
• Public Meeting for the Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (PowerPoint Presentation)
• Harrison County Flood Insurance Rate Maps