Floodplains_Content Page_Risk MAP

Risk MAP Projects

Risk MAP (Mapping, Assessment and Planning) is the next phase in floodplain mapping.

The Risk MAP process includes:

  • A multi-year FEMA program using a watershed approach
  • High quality flood maps and information
  • Non-Regulatory tools to better assess the risk from flooding
  • Planning and outreach support to communities to help them take action to reduce flood risk

Please visit FEMA to learn more about RiskMAP.

To view and download effective maps, flood insurance studies, or data please visit FEMA's Map Service Center.

To view and download preliminary maps, flood insurance studies, or data, for active projects please visit FEMA's Preliminary Data Search Tool.

Active Projects

Door County

Floodplain Ordinance Materials

The DNR has a Model Floodplain Ordinance which meets the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. All ordinance updates need to contain the minimum standards in the model. Please be on the lookout for an email from DNR staff explaining the update process. DNR staff are prepared to assist with the ordinance review and adoption process and explain state and federal regulatory requirements. Communities should have DNR staff review the draft local floodplain ordinance well before the ordinance is presented to the local governing body for adoption in order to ensure compliance with the NFIP and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. The Effective date of these products is May 8, 2024. Your floodplain ordinance must be adopted and approved by the DNR and FEMA by this date for your community to remain in good standing in the NFIP.

Maps

Note - Below are flood storage maps for Door County, Wisconsin. A flood storage map is part of the mapped floodplain that identifies the natural flood storage capacity of that watershed area. A shapefile has been sent to affected communities and will be available for viewing on the DNR Surface Water Data Viewer. If your community is listed on one of the flood storage maps below, flood storage language should be part of the community ordinance and the appropriate flood storage maps adopted.

For questions about the FIRM maps, please contact Nicole Metzger, Project Manager, nicole.metzger@atkinsglobal.com. 

For questions about the Flood Storage Maps, contact Emily Szajna, DNR Floodplain Mapping Program Manager, at emily.szajna@wisconsin.gov.

Countywide Projects

Bayfield County

Bayfield County floodplain maps are being updated countywide. Revised floodplains will be produced with better available data resulting in new engineered Zone A and redelineated detailed studies. A project kick-off meeting was held on March 19, 2020, to present the process and timeline of the project. This project is currently in data development and expected to have draft maps issued in 2023. Draft maps will include FEMA's revised Lake Superior coastal floodplains and presented at a Flood Risk Review Meeting.

Burnett County

Burnett County floodplain maps are being updated countywide. Revised floodplains will be produced with better available data resulting in new engineered Zone A and redelineated detailed studies. A project kick-off meeting will be held in early 2022 to present the process and timeline of the project.

Hydrologic modeling is on-going for revised studies in Burnett County, however all other data development tasks are on hold until the 2022 countywide Lidar is available for use.

Chippewa County

Chippewa County floodplain maps are being updated countywide. Revised floodplains will be produced with better available data resulting in new engineered Zone A and redelineated detailed studies. This project is currently in data development and expected to have draft maps issued in 2024/2025.

Project Kick-Off Meeting Materials

A virtual meeting was held with community leaders on December 7, 2022. This meeting was held to provide information on FEMA’s mapping project, discuss the National Flood Insurance Program, ask the communities for input, and answer any questions the communities may have.

Reference Material

For questions, please contact Emily Szajna

Douglas County

Project History

Douglas County floodplain maps are currently being updated. We are using better available data to produce newly engineered Zone A areas and update mapping along the Lake Superior coastline with data that FEMA has been working on as part of the Great Lake Coastal mapping effort. Coastal data will be incorporated into the mapping during the Preliminary phase of the project.

A project kick-off meeting was held on March 20, 2020, to present the process and timeline of the project. The data development phase is in progress. Data was gathered from local, state, and federal sources to incorporate into the map products as base data.

Flood Risk Review Meeting

Work maps and draft data were discussed at the Flood Risk Review Meeting held on January 25, 2023. An informal 30-day comment period started with this meeting allowing communities to provide input on the draft maps and data.

For questions, please contact Emily Szajna.

Forest County

Forest County floodplain maps are being updated countywide. Revised floodplains will be produced with better available data resulting in new engineered Zone A and redelineated detailed studies. This project is currently in data development and expected to have draft maps issued in 2025.

Project Kick-Off Meeting Materials

A meeting was held with community leaders on April 13, 2023. This meeting was held to provide information on FEMA's mapping project, discuss the National Flood Insurance Program, ask the communities for their input, and answer any questions the communities may have.

Langlade County

Langlade County is a Map Modernization Project where we are using better quality data to update floodplains and provide digital products to affected communities replacing the old, outdated paper maps. A project kick-off meeting was held on April 29, 2020, via Skype.

Project Kick-Off Meeting Materials

The project is now in the data development phase. During this phase, the base map data and aerial photo are gathered from local and state sources and the floodplains are being updated using hydrologic and hydraulic methods. Once this is complete, draft work maps and data will be produced and shared with local officials.

Along with the regulatory products (FIRMs and FIS) created for the Langlade County modernization project, there is a set of non-regulatory products we will be generating. These non-regulatory products help communities gain a better understanding of flood risk and its potential impacts on communities and individuals. These products will also enable communities to take proper mitigation actions to reduce this risk.

Flood Risk Review/Resilience Meeting

Work maps and draft data were discussed at the Flood Risk Review and Resilience Meeting held on April 14, 2023. The draft work maps, which display proposed floodplains, are available for viewing. Non-regulatory products (CSLF and AOMI) were also discussed. An informal 30-day comment period ends on May 14th allowing communities to provide input on the draft maps and data.

For questions, please contact Emily Szajna.

Marinette County

Marinette County floodplain maps are being updated countywide. Using the latest LiDAR, floodplains will be modeled resulting in new engineered Zone A studies. We will also be incorporating detailed and coastal studies done previously by another FEMA contractor. This project will begin data development in the near future and is expected to have draft maps issued in 2025/2026.

A project kickoff meeting was held both in-person and via Zoom with community leaders on June 29, 2023. This meeting was held to provide information on FEMA’s mapping project, discuss the National Flood Insurance Program, ask the communities for their input, and answer any questions the communities may have.

Project Kick-Off Meeting Materials

Monroe County

Monroe County floodplain maps are being updated countywide and as part of the Kickapoo River Watershed update. Portions of the Kickapoo River will be updated with new in-channel survey, updated gage analysis, and revised detail modeling. All current effective approximate studies in the County will be updated to revised engineered approximate studies and delineated using LiDAR. A project kick-off meeting was held on October 5, 2021.

Polk County

Polk County floodplain maps are being updated countywide. Revised floodplains will be produced with better available data resulting in new engineered Zone A and redelineated detailed studies. This project is currently in data development and expected to have draft maps issued in 2024.

Project Kick Off Meeting Materials

A virtual meeting was held with community leaders on December 7, 2022. This meeting was held to give background on FEMA's mapping project, the National Flood Insurance Program, ask the communities for any input, and answer any questions the communities may have.

Reference Material

For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz

Price County

Price County is a Map Modernization Project intended to deliver digital products to affected communities, replacing the current paper maps. The project will also use recent LiDAR to redelineate detailed flood studies and revised approximate studies. A project kick-off meeting will be in early 2022.

The project is now in the data development phase. During this phase, the base map data and aerial photo are gathered from local and state sources. The floodplains are also being updated using hydrologic and hydraulic methods. Once this is complete, draft work maps and data will be produced and shared with local officials at a meeting. This will include a 30-day comment period on the draft data.

For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz

Sawyer County

Sawyer County is a Map Modernization Project where we are using better quality data to update floodplains and provide digital products to affected communities replacing the old, outdated paper maps. A project kick-off meeting was held via Zoom on May 20, 2021. See below for meeting materials.

Project Kick-Off Meeting Materials

The project is now in the data development phase. During this phase, the base map data and aerial photo are gathered from local and state sources. The floodplains are also being updated using hydrologic and hydraulic methods. Once this is complete, draft work maps and data will be produced and shared with local officials.

Along with the regulatory products (FIRMs and FIS) produced for the Sawyer County modernization project, there is a set of non-regulatory products we will be creating. These non-regulatory products help communities gain a better understanding of flood risk and its potential impacts on communities and individuals. These products will also enable communities to take proper mitigation actions to reduce this risk.

The end result is creation of draft work maps and a flood risk database containing Changes Since Last FIRM (CSLF), Areas of Mitigation Interest (AOMI) and depth grids which will be discussed at a Flood Risk Review (FRR) and Resilience Meeting. The draft work maps, which display the current effective and proposed floodplains, will be able to be viewed in an online map viewer and the layers explained during the meeting. This will include a 30-day comment period on the draft data as well. More details to come on the FRR meeting.

For questions, please contact Emily Szajna

Shawano County

Preliminary Maps and Appeal Process

Preliminary maps for Shawano County were distributed on January 10, 2022. The CCO (local officials) meeting and public Open House were held via Zoom on April 14, 2022. Reference materials for the CCO meeting and public Open House are now available for viewing.

A 90-day appeal and comment period ended on February 2, 2023. No appeals or comments were received during this time.This project has now moved into the final mapping phase.

Appeals Process Public Fact Sheet

For questions, please contact Emily Szjana.

Project History

Shawano County is a Map Modernization Project. Hydrology and hydraulics are complete. Work maps and draft data were distributed to affected communities in November and are described further below. A Flood Risk Review and Resilience meeting was held on December 16, 2020 via Zoom to talk with local officials about these products. In addition, a 30-day comment period started on this date and ends on January 16, 2021. The regulatory products have reached the draft phase and have been distributed to the communities via an online through the Shawano County Proposed Data and Workmaps webmap.

Along with the regulatory products produced for the Shawano County modernization project, there is a set of non-regulatory products. These non-regulatory products help communities gain a better understanding of flood risk and its potential impacts on communities and individuals. These products will also enable communities to take proper mitigation actions to reduce this risk.

Work maps and a Flood Risk Database containing Changes Since Last FIRM (CSLF) and Areas of Mitigation Interest (AOMI) were discussed at the Flood Risk Review and Resilience Meeting. The draft work maps, which display the current effective and proposed revised floodplains, were viewed in the online map viewer and layers explained during the meeting. Information about the meeting follows.

Flood Risk Review/Resilience Meeting Material

Two presentations were given at this meeting. One presentation covers the DNR portion that dealt with flood risk awareness and resilience and the other covered Wisconsin Emergency Management's (WEM) mitigation portion. Reference materials related to the FRR/Resilience meeting are available for viewing using the links below. A recording of the meeting is available upon request.

For questions, please contact Emily Szjana.

Taylor County

Taylor County preliminary flood maps were released on June 6, 2021. They can be found at, FEMA Map Service Center.

A public open house was held virtually on November 09, 2021. FEMA and DNR staff were available to review the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps with stakeholders and to answer questions. During the 90-day comment and appeal period, stakeholders have the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from July 21, 2022 to October 19, 2022.

Project History

Taylor County is a Map Modernization Project. Hydrology and hydraulics are complete. Draft data and maps were distributed to communities in August 2020, and is also available to view at the Taylor County Proposed Data and Draft Workmap Viewer. A Flood Risk Review and Resilience meeting was held to talk with local officials about the draft maps and non-regulatory products on September 16, 2020.

For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz.

Watershed Projects and Physical Map Revisions (PMR)

    Castle Rock Watershed (Adams, Clark, Columbia, Jackson, Juneau, Langlade, Marathon, Marquette, Monroe, Portage, Sauk, Shawano, Waushara, Wood)

    Discovery

    In September 2020, FEMA funded the DNR to begin the Discovery Phase of RiskMAP for the Castle Rock watershed.

    The goal of Discovery is to work with local communities to better understand local flood risk, mitigation efforts, and spark watershed-wide discussions about increasing resilience for flooding. It also includes evaluating the potential to update effective floodplain maps and mitigation planning needs for the basin. A kick-off meeting was held on May 25, 2021 and final Discovery meetings were held on August 4-5, 2022. The final Discovery Report and Map are available for download.

    Final Discovery Material

    Kickapoo Watershed (Crawford, Monroe, Richland, Vernon)

    In September 2020, FEMA funded the DNR to begin data development in the Kickapoo Watershed based on recommendations from the Discovery Report. This will include new and revised floodplain, draft maps, and changes since last FIRM map.

    Discovery

    The Kickapoo Watershed was chosen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the Discovery process, which kicked off in 2017. The goal of Discovery is to work with local communities to better understand local flood risk, mitigation efforts, and spark watershed-wide discussions about increasing resilience for flooding. It also includes evaluating the potential to update effective floodplain maps and mitigation planning needs for the basin. This report documents the coordination with stakeholders, and relevant data collected during the Kickapoo Watershed Discovery. This process concluded in September 2018 and the final Discovery Report, Map, and shapefiles are available for download.

    Final discovery material

    Reference material

    For questions, please contact Ben Sanborn

    Milwaukee River Watershed (Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha)

    Waukesha County

    Preliminary Maps and Appeal Process

    Waukesha County's portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Milwaukee River Watershed are now available. They can be found at, FEMA Map Service Center.

    A public open house was held virtually on November 17, 2021. FEMA and DNR staff were available to review the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps with stakeholders and to answer questions. Post preliminary issuance, the Waukesha County portions of the Upper Fox Watershed project and the Milwaukee River Watershed project were merged and will advance through the due process and final mapping stages together. The due process phase includes a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders have the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from August 18, 2022 to November 16, 2022.

    Adoption Phase

    This project has reached the Letter of Final Determination (LFD) date of April 19, 2023. This is the start of the 6-month adoption phase for affected communities. The current Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) will be superseded by these updated FIRMs and FIS and the references to these will need to be updated in your local floodplain ordinance.

    Floodplain Ordinance Materials

    The DNR has a Model Floodplain Ordinance which meets the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. All ordinance updates need to contain the minimum standards in the model. Please be on the lookout for an email from DNR staff explaining the update process. DNR staff are prepared to assist with the ordinance review and adoption process and explain state and federal regulatory requirements. Communities should have DNR staff review the draft local floodplain ordinance well before the ordinance is presented to the local governing body for adoption in order to ensure compliance with the NFIP and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. The Effective date of these products is October 19, 2023. Your floodplain ordinance must be adopted and approved by the DNR and FEMA by this date for your community to remain in good standing in the NFIP.

    Maps

    Note - Below are flood storage maps for Waukesha County, Wisconsin. A flood storage map is part of the mapped floodplain that identifies the natural flood storage capacity of that watershed area. A shapefile has been sent to affected communities and will be made available on the DNR Surface Water Data Viewer. If your community is listed on one of the flood storage maps below, flood storage language should be part of the community ordinance and the appropriate flood storage maps adopted.

    For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz.

    Ozaukee County

    Ozaukee County's portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Milwaukee River Watershed are now available. This portion of the project includes revised studies within the Milwaukee River Watershed and the revised Lake Michigan flood study. They can be found at FEMA Map Service Center.

    A public open house was held virtually on June 1, 2022. FEMA and DNR staff were available to review the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps with stakeholders and to answer questions. The due process phase included a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders had the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from December 15, 2022 to March 15, 2023.

    For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz.

    Fond du Lac County

    Fond du Lac County's portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Milwaukee River Watershed are now available. They can be found at FEMA Map Service Center.

    A local officials meeting and public open house was held virtually on October 12, 2022. FEMA and DNR staff will be available to review the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps with stakeholders and to answer questions. The due process phase included a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders had the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from January 26, 2023, to April 26, 2023.

    Milwaukee County

    Milwaukee County's portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Milwaukee River Watershed are now available. This portion of the project includes revised studies within the Milwaukee River Watershed and the revised Lake Michigan flood study. They can be found at FEMA Map Service Center.

    CCO Meeting Material/Open House

    A local official meeting and public open house was held virtually on October 11, 2022. Reference materials for the CCO meeting and Public Open House are now available for viewing:

    The due process phase includes a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders had the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineering analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from April 26, 2023, to July 25, 2023.

    Appeals Process Public Fact Sheet

    Sheboygan County

    Sheboygan County's portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Milwaukee River Watershed are now available. This portion of the project includes revised studies within the Milwaukee River Watershed and the revised Lake Michigan flood study. They can be found at FEMA Map Service Center.

    CCO Meeting Material/Open House

    A local official meeting and public open house was held virtually on October 4, 2022. Reference materials for the CCO meeting and Public Open House are now available for viewing:

    The due process phase includes a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders had the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineering analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from March 29, 2023, to June 27, 2023.

    Appeals Process Public Fact Sheet

    Washington County

    Washington County's portion of the Milwaukee River Watershed is schedule to be issue preliminary in 2023. This portion of the project includes revised studies within the Milwaukee River Watershed and the Rock River PMR study revisions.

    Watershed Project History

    Prior to the development of these non-regulatory products, four Action Discovery meetings were held with communities in the Milwaukee Watershed to get a better idea of their mitigation and floodplain planning needs, in February 2014. As a result, a Final Discovery Report was created to further reflect any additional comments by the communities. This report was submitted to FEMA with suggested streams to be studied or included as leverage for data development. FEMA has approved and funded some of these projects as part of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. The details of this data development are still being worked out.

    On May 16, 2013, Initial Discovery meetings were held in the Cities of Glendale and West Bend for the Milwaukee River watershed. The Milwaukee River watershed encompasses Dodge, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties and 39 incorporated communities. Local officials, engineers, planners and emergency managers participated in discussions about flood risk and hazard mitigation in their communities. The attendants also provided input about any areas of concern on streams they would like potentially restudied.

    Additionally, a comment period was open until Monday, June 3, 2013 at the end of which all comments were compiled and re-evaluated by the DNR and captured in the Initial Discovery Report.

    Along with the regulatory products produced for the Milwaukee River Watershed Mapping Project, there is a set of non-regulatory products. These non-regulatory products help communities gain a better understanding of flood risk and its potential impacts on communities and individuals. These products will also enable communities to take proper mitigation actions to reduce this risk.

    Non Regulatory products were delivered to the communities in August 2019. Work maps, Flood Risk Report, and Flood Risk Database were presented at Resiliency and Flood Risk Review Meetings on August 28, 2019 in Port Washington and West Bend. Printed work maps, which display the current effective and proposed revised floodplains, were available for review and comment at these meetings.

    Discovery materials

    Reference materials

    View the following presentations from the meetings for more about the upcoming project and potential reasons for restudy.

    Maps

    For questions, please contact Chad Heimerl.

    Pennito Creek PMR - Dane County

    Pennito Creek is a physical map revision that is updating several Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) panels in a portion of Dane County. The project purpose is to map the approved Letter of Map Revision (LOMR).

    Preliminary Maps and Appeal Process

    Preliminary Maps for the Pennito Creek physical map revision project were distributed on July 11, 2023 and can be downloaded at FEMA Map Service Center. A CCO (local officials) meeting was held via Zoom and in-person at the Village of McFarland Municipal Center on August 29, 2023. Reference material for the CCO meeting and public open house is now available for viewing.

    This project will begin moving into the due process phase soon, which will include a 90-day comment and appeal period.

    For questions, please contact Ben Sanborn

    Rock River PMR - Washington County

    The Rock River project in Washington County is a physical map revision (PMR) that is updating several Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM). The project purpose is to map the approved Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) which revised several Rock River tributaries within the County. Preliminary map release is expected in 2022.

    Upper (Illinois) Fox River Watershed (Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Waukesha)

    Kenosha County

    The Kenosha County portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Upper Fox River Watershed are now available. Preliminary maps can be found at FEMA Map Service Center.

    A public open house was held virtually on May 31, 2022. FEMA and DNR staff were available to review the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps with stakeholders and answer questions. The due process phase includes a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders have the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from October 20, 2022, to January 18, 2023.

    Adoption Phase

    This project has reached the Letter of Final Determination (LFD) date on October 11, 2023. This is the start of the 6-month adoption phase for affected communities. The current Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) will be superseded by these updated FIRMs and FIS and the references to these will need to be updated in your local floodplain ordinance.

    Floodplain Ordinance Materials

    The DNR has a Model Floodplain Ordinance which meets the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. Use the maps and ordinance adoption resources below when updating your local floodplain ordinance. Please be on the lookout for a letter and/or email from DNR staff explaining this process. DNR staff are prepared to assist with the ordinance review and adoption process and explain state and federal regulatory requirements. Communities should have DNR staff review the draft local floodplain ordinance well before the ordinance is presented to the local governing body for adoption in order to ensure compliance with the NFIP and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. The Effective date of these products is April 11, 2024. The floodplain ordinance must be adopted and approved by the DNR and FEMA by this date for your community to remain in good standing in the NFIP. Please send floodplain ordinance adoption questions to DNRFloodplain@wisconsin.gov.

    Maps

    Note - Below are flood storage maps for Kenosha County, Wisconsin. A flood storage map is part of the mapped floodplain that identifies the natural flood storage capacity of that watershed area. A shapefile has been sent to affected communities and will be made available on the DNR Surface Water Data Viewer. If your community is listed on one of the flood storage maps below, flood storage language should be part of the community ordinance and the appropriate flood storage maps adopted.

    For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz.

    Racine County

    The Racine County portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Upper Fox River Watershed are now available. Preliminary maps can be found at FEMA Map Service Center.

    A public open house was held virtually on March 29, 2022. FEMA and DNR staff were available to review the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps with stakeholders and to answer questions. The due process phase includes a 90-day comment and appeal period in which stakeholders have the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from October 27, 2022, to January 14, 2023.

    Adoption Phase

    This project has reached the Letter of Final Determination (LFD) date of July 11, 2023. This is the start of the 6-month adoption phase for affected communities. The current Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) will be superseded by these updated FIRMs and FIS and the references to these will need to be updated in your local floodplain ordinance.

    Floodplain Ordinance Materials

    The DNR has a Model Floodplain Ordinance which meets the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. Use the maps and ordinance adoption resources below when updating your local floodplain ordinance. Please be on the lookout for a letter and/or email from DNR staff explaining this process. DNR staff are prepared to assist with the ordinance review and adoption process and explain state and federal regulatory requirements. Communities should have DNR staff review the draft local floodplain ordinance well before the ordinance is presented to the local governing body for adoption in order to ensure compliance with the NFIP and Chapter NR 116, Wis. Admin. Code. The Effective date of these products is January 11, 2024. The floodplain ordinance must be adopted and approved by the DNR and FEMA by this date for your community to remain in good standing in the NFIP. Please send floodplain ordinance adoption questions to DNRFloodplain@wisconsin.gov.

    Maps

    Note - Below are flood storage maps for Racine County, Wisconsin. A flood storage map is part of the mapped floodplain that identifies the natural flood storage capacity of that watershed area. A shapefile has been sent to affected communities and will be made available on the DNR Surface Water Data Viewer. If your community is listed on one of the flood storage maps below, flood storage language should be part of the community ordinance and the appropriate flood storage maps adopted.

    For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz.

    Walworth County

    Walworth County, Upper Fox River is a physical map revision that updated 49 Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) panels in Walworth County. The maps are complete and became effective on April 6, 2022. Local floodplain ordinances have been revised and adopted to reflect the updates.

    All questions please contact Fritz Statz.

    Waukesha County

    Waukesha County's portion of the preliminary flood maps for the Upper Fox River Watershed are now available. They can be found at, FEMA Map Service Center.

    A public open house was held to view the updated preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps on March 4, 2020 at the Mukwonago Village Hall. The updated preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Waukesha County were on display for public review in preparation for the upcoming 90-day comment and appeal period. Post preliminary issuance, the Waukesha County portions of the Upper Fox Watershed project and the Milwaukee River Watershed project were merged and will advance through the due process and final mapping stages together. During the 90-day comment and appeal period, stakeholders have the opportunity to correct errors in the preliminary mapped floodplain if supported by revised engineer analysis. The comment and appeal period was open from August 18, 2022, to November 16, 2022.

    Moving forward, all Waukesha County updates will be under the Milwaukee River Watershed heading below.

      Wolf River Watershed (Outagamie, Waupaca)

      A project for updating select approximate and detailed study streams in the Wolf River Watershed with new floodplains is starting in Outagamie and Waupaca Counties. At this time, stream survey, hydrology, and hydraulics have been funded. This will take the project through draft data with workmaps.
       
      A contract was awarded to conduct the channel survey work which is needed for the hydraulic modeling of the new detailed studies.  The survey work is projected to be completed by late 2024.
       

      Project Kickoff Meeting

      The Project Kick Off Meeting was held October 10, 2023. This meeting discussed the project scope, modeling methods, and touched on the NFIP and Mitigation programs. It also discussed next steps if FEMA funds continuation of the project. It also covered information on FEMA’s Risk MAP project, the National Flood Insurance Program, asked the communities for any input, and answer any questions the communities may have. 

      Reference Material

      Wolf River Watershed RFB Data

      For questions, please contact G. Fritz Statz.

      Business Plans