Public Invited to Help Identify Flood Prone Areas in Portions of Polk County

News Release

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve the identification of flood prone areas in Polk County's Upper Peace River-Homeland watershed. Residents living in the watershed are invited to attend an open house on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Bartow Public Library on the 2nd floor, located at 2150 S. Broadway Ave. in Bartow.

District representatives will present preliminary flood prone area information, explain the basis behind the findings, and gather additional information that may be used to identify areas that are flood prone. After addressing public comments, flood prone area information will be finalized and presented to the District's Governing Board for authorization to use the data for regulatory purposes.

This flood prone area information for the Upper Peace River-Homeland watershed will not be incorporated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) that will be presented to the public for review in early 2015. However, it may be used in future updates to the DFIRMs.

The flood prone area information can be used by local governments for land use and zoning decisions, to help manage development in and around floodplains and wetlands, to reduce flood risks, to preserve land and water resources, and for emergency planning. It will also provide valuable information to the public for decisions about purchasing and protecting property.

For more information or to find out which watershed you live in, please visit "WaterMatters.org/FloodRisk/":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/emergency/floodriskprojects/. You can also call the District at (352) 796-7211, ext. 4297.