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Floodplain Management
The City of Sugar Land participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The NFIP establishes flood zones and minimum flood levels to set flood insurance premiums. It also establishes construction standards for buildings in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) with type "A" and "V" flood zones. The NFIP generally requires a flood insurance policy for any property in the SFHA that is covered by a mortgage, because most financial institutions are backed by federal insurance.
Natural Floodplain Function
The City of Sugar Land owns and maintains many parks and land as naturally functioning open space, including the Brazos River Park and Memorial Park, to improve the floodplain function along the natural waterways in the City. Natural functions of the floodplain include recharging groundwater, water quality through filtering of sediment and contaminants, transporting nutrients and supporting habitats for sensitive living resources. The City of Sugar Land enforces storm water quality to protect and enhance the water quality and prevent impacts to the natural floodplains through the Development Code.
Keep storm sewer inlets clean and free of debris. It is illegal to dump any type of debris into a storm sewer inlet, ditch, creek, river or other drainage way. The maintenance of the storm sewer system and road right of way is performed by the Public Works Department. If you see any illegal dumping or maintenance needs, please contact the City by calling 311 or 281-275-2900.
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Floodplain Maps
The City's Building Department has flood maps that indicate whether you live in a Special Flood Hazard Area. There is also information on flooding problems in specific, localized areas.
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Elevation Certificates
Learn more about when and why you would need to obtain an elevation certificate before building.
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Substantial Improvement
Older buildings - built prior to December 31, 1974 - were grandfathered into the flood insurance program at their current heights. That grandfathered status expires once the building has been Substantially Improved; which means repaired or remodeled to 50% or more of the building's market value.
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Mitigation and Construction in the Floodplain
Substantial renovation of existing buildings and new construction usually requires certain flood damage protection requirements.
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Flood Insurance
Learn more about getting flood insurance for your house.
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Flood Ordinances
View the Flood Ordinances from the Municipal Code.
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Minimum Finished Floor Elevations
View the requirements for minimum finished floor elevations for structures in the City of Sugar Land.
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Flood Warnings
Review resources for flood warnings in the area.
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Community Rating System (CRS)
The Community Rating System (CRS) is a program managed by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Eligible communities are awarded community-wide discounts to their flood insurance premiums for exceeding the basic provisions of NFIP participation, designed to further prevent future damages from flood events.
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Floodplain Forms
Search through forms about flooding.
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Flood Protection and Atlas 14
Sugar Land adopted the Atlas 14 rainfall frequency estimates for Texas on April 2, 2019. This resulted in modifications to the city’s Development Code and Design Standards, the city-adopted guidelines that provide guidance for the review of requests to alter or develop new property within the city.