The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), established by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, has several purposes, the most significant being:

• To better indemnify individuals from losses through the availability of flood insurance;
• To reduce future flood damages through community floodplain management regulations; and
• To reduce costs for disaster assistance and flood control.

A critical component of this program is the identification and mapping of the nation’s floodplains to create a broad-based awareness of the flood hazard and to provide the data necessary for community floodplain management programs and to actuarially rate flood insurance.

Important changes are occurring in Pasco County. A multi-year project is underway to re-examine flood zones and develop detailed digital flood hazard maps. Water flow and drainage patterns have changed significantly since 1981 when the first Flood Hazard Maps were produced for Pasco County. These changes are related to erosion, land use, and other natural forces. However, the County’s existing Flood Hazard Maps have not kept up with these changes and therefore don’t always reflect the County’s current flood risks.

In response to this, the County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), along with the municipalities of Dade City, New Port Richey, Port Richey, San Antonio, St. Leo and Zephyrhills have expressed a desire to cooperate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the updating of the Flood Hazard Maps.