The Flood Task Force for the District of Columbia has released its first five draft action plans to help make the city and its residents more flood resilient. The plans include recommended projects to protect more than 1,000 homes in low-lying District neighborhoods from flooding. The plans are available for review at dcfloodtaskforce.org/action-plans and comments will be accepted through Monday, August 22.

The Task Force includes 28 agencies and organizations that have been meeting monthly to identify policies and projects to bolster flood readiness while equitably protecting the District’s residents and economy from the damage that floods can cause. The Task Force also held public listening sessions in March to solicit input from residents and businesses.

The action plans are being released in three phases: the first set referenced above, the second in September, and the final in November 2022. The first five action plans approved for release are: 

FloodSmart Homes 
Short term, the goal is to make all of the approximately 1,000 residential structures in the District’s 100-year and 500-year floodplains flood protected. Long-term, the goal is to make all residential structures that have flood risk (including areas with interior flood risk that are not currently mapped into FEMA floodplains) more flood resilient.

Update Floodplain Regulations 
The goal of this action is to update the District’s Flood Hazard Rules to account for increased flood risk due to climate change

Update Watts Branch FEMA Maps 
The goal of this action is for the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) to apply to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) in the Watts Branch watershed. This letter would request an update of the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), reflecting the recent mapping of flood risk by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DC Silver Jackets team.

Update Oxon Run FEMA Maps 
The goal of this action is for DOEE to apply to FEMA for a LOMR in the Oxon Run watershed to update FIRMs, reflecting the recent mapping of flood risk by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DC Silver Jackets team.

Coordinate Yearly Public Outreach 
The goal of this action is to coordinate outreach efforts among the various agencies within the Flood Task Force, to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to annual flood risk and mitigation messaging.

Questions or comments can be submitted by email to dcfloodtaskforce@dc.gov. 

District agencies will review any proposed changes to these first five action plans, and wherever feasible, will incorporate them into the final version of the plans, which will be presented to the Flood Task Force at the September 21 meeting for approval. 

About the Task Force 
The DC Flood Task Force was established by the Office of the City Administrator in September 2021. The Task Force is jointly co-chaired by the DOEE Director and the General Manager and CEO of DC Water, and reports to the Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure. All meeting videos and materials, as well as the upcoming schedule, are at dcfloodtaskforce.org. 

Media Contacts:

John Lisle                                     
DC Water                                       
(202)787-2616                               
john.lisle@dcwater.com                 

Nicole Goines
DOEE
(202)536-7666
nicole.goines1@dc.gov