On April 2, 2013 FEMA issued the final flood hazard determination for Champaign County, including the City of Champaign. The new Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) will become effective on October 2, 2013 replacing our current FIRM dated January 16, 1981. The new FIRM shows a large reduction in the floodplain in the campus area, a result of the Boneyard Creek Campustown Channel and Detention and the Healey St. Basin projects. The new FIRMs are available on the internet and have aerial backgrounds, giving improved mapping that is easier to interpret.
The public can go to the website http://www.illinoisfloodmaps.org/ type in an address and view the property relative to the floodplain. Many property owners in the campus area will see a reduction or elimination of the floodplain in their vicinity. Floodplains in other areas of the City may have minor changes due to improved data or mapping that either increase or decrease the floodplain area. The intent of the maps is to present the best available data so that property owners and lenders can realistically evaluate their 100-year flooding risk.
Flood insurance for properties outside the 100-year floodplain is voluntary. The maps are developed based on modeling the 100-year flood along streams. Properties depicted as outside the 100-year floodplain may still flood during larger than 100-year events, in depression areas away from streams, or in atypical events such as heavy rain with blocked drainage outlets.