FACT SHEET
WHARTON COUNTY FEMA REMAPPING PROJECT

Purpose of Remapping Project

Most communities in Texas have a set of maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which show areas susceptible to flooding during severe rainfall events. These maps are used by the National Flood Insurance Program to set flood insurance rates and are therefore called Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM). The maps are also used by the local community to set development standards in flood hazard areas. The current Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Wharton County are outdated and in need of revisions. “Mapping the Lower Colorado River Project” is a Cooperative Technical Partner activity with the partnership between the FEMA, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), and the Lower Colorado River Floodplain Coalition. The Technical Activity #04 (TA-04) of this mapping project will be publication of Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRM’s) for Wharton County. Up-to-date mapping and flood data developed from the current Corps of Engineers-LCRA study, the “Colorado River Flood Damage Evaluation Project”, will be used for the river corridor. DFIRM’s are state of the art digital mapping products that can be interfaced with other digital products and utilized by Wharton County and the cities of Wharton and El Campo in guiding development in flood prone areas, emergency responses, and the planning, design, and construction of projects throughout the County.

Previous and Current FEMA Mapping

Wharton County and the cities of Wharton and El Campo were originally mapped separately by FEMA, with Flood Hazard Boundary Maps initially published from 1974 to 1976. Wharton County and the cities of Wharton and El Campo subsequently joined the National Flood Insurance Program and flood insurance is available to residents and businesses throughout Wharton County. FEMA recently published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM’s) for the unincorporated areas in Wharton County dated November 7, 2001, but FIRM’s for the cities of Wharton and El Campo were published September 16, 1982 and March 1, 1983 respectively. The latest Wharton County Flood Insurance Study was prepared by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, and completed in September 1998. The Wharton County streams studied by the Corps of Engineers include portions of Bosque Slough, East Fork Jones Creek, East Mustang Creek, San Bernard River and Tributary to East Fork Jones Creek. Previous Flood Insurance Studies for Wharton County, the City of Wharton and the City of El Campo were completed in 1979 and 1980 and included a portion of the Colorado River, Baughman Slough, Tres Palacios Creek, Tres Palacios Tributary, Stage Stand Creek, Lower Caney Creek, Upper Caney Creek, Blue Creek and Blue Creek Tributary.

Remapping Project Schedule

Public Information Contacts

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