The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has completed a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) that became effective on September 26, 2008.  These new FIRMs replace FIRMS that were last revised in 1986.

A floodplain is the part of the land where water collects, pools, and flows during the course of natural events.  Such areas are classified as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), and are located in a 100-year flood zone. The term "100-year flood" is defined as the flood that has a 1- percent chance of being equaled or exceeded each year; it is not the flood that will occur once every 100 years.  The likelihood of a flood occurring within a 100-year stretch of time is very, very high, but there’s no way to predict when the next flood will occur – or the one after that.  The redrawn maps indicate the floodplain as a “high-risk” area, officially classified as Zones A, AE, A1-30, AH, and AO.  Low- and moderate-risk areas are designated as X zones and shaded X zones on the new maps.  If the new FIRM shows a structure is within the high-risk zone known as the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), flood insurance is mandatory for structures with mortgages from a federally regulated lender and is strongly recommended for all structures.

Although FEMA reports that no significant changes have been made to the Town of Windsor Flood Zones, flood insurance may be a new requirement for certain property owners.  Because of new digital technology, floodplain boundaries may have shifted.  As an effect of this shift, some property owners who were not in the flood risk zone may now be located within a high risk zone.  If these property owners have a mortgage, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, the mortgage lender will be informed of the zone change and will require the owners to purchase flood insurance. The cost of insurance will vary depending on a variety of circumstances such as whether the house was built pre or post-FIRM.  For these property owners, a provision exists that allows the purchase of the flood policy prior to the effective date of the new maps, and creates eligibility to maintain insurance at a cost commensurate with the prior flood zone as shown on the old map. This grandfather status allows the homeowner to purchase at the reduced rate of the old, lower risk zone. In order to obtain grandfather status, property owners must apply for the flood insurance policy prior to September 26, 2008.

Go to: http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=2497 for Saving on Flood Insurance, a fact sheet which provides further details.

Additionally, prior to September 26, 2008, Windsor was required, as a condition of continued eligibility in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), to adopt or show evidence of adoption of floodplain management regulations that meet the standards of the NFIP regulations.  The revised Floodplain Management Ordinance was adopted at the September 2, 2008 Town Council Meeting and became effective on September 15, 2008.

The FEMA proposed flood zone maps are available on the town web site at http://www.townofwindsorct.com/engineering/floodplain/map.htm. Maps and regulations are available for inspection in the Engineering Department, Windsor Town Hall, 275 Broad Street, Windsor, CT 06095.

You may also contact the Engineering Department at (860) 285-1862 with any questions.