EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Afrer several decades of work and a multibillion dollar investment to address flood problems in the United 
States, the average annual death rate from floods appears to have been stabilized, but flood losses (public 
and private property damage, injuries, disruption, and disaster relief) continue to rise, and the natural 
resources provided by floodplains are still being destroyed. The recent devastating floods were a harsh 
reminder of the high price that must be paid for unwise land use decisions, failure to account for natural forces, and 
lack of preparedness. 

Floodplains throughout the United States today are managtd through the decisions of countless groups and individuals, 
from property owners to elected officials to hired specialists. Their choices are subject to Federal, state, and local 
laws, programs, and policies for flood control, water resources management, economic development, environmental 
protection, disaster assistance, and other objectives. The Unified National Program for Floodplain Management is 
the Federal government's means of focusing these disparate perspectives toward the national good. It does this by setting 
out a conceptual framework for floodplain management that includes a statement of overall purpose, definitions, 
working and general principles, and management strategies and tools; by setting national goals and a timetable for 
their achievement; by providing for periodic evaluations of the status of floodplain management in the Nation; and 
by defining the roles and responsibilities of each level of government and the private sector. 

Floodplain management aims to achieve 

• A reduction in the loss oflife, disruption, and damage caused by floods; and 
• The preservation and restoration of the natural resources and functions of floodplains (which, in turn, lessens 
damage potential). 
When both of those purposes are achieved within a given floodplain-that is, when the activities that take place within 
it are compatible with both the risks to human life and property posed by floods and the risks to the floodplain's 
natural functions posed by the human activities-it is said that the floodplain is being put to ''wise use." Floodplain 
management, therefore, is defined as a decision-making process that aims to achieve the wise use ofthe Nation's floodplains. 


There are four main strategies for managing floodplains: (1) modifying human susceptibility to flood damage and 
disruption; (2) modifying the impact of flooding on individuals and the community; (3) modifying flooding; and (4) 
preserving and restoring the natural resources of floodplains. Each strategy is supported by an array of tools (local 
ordinances, hazard and resource identification programs, control structures, development/redevelopment policies, 
public awareness campaigns, etc.). 

Under this framework, the decisions of floodplain managers involve choosing the best mixture of strategies and tools, 
balancing competing uses, weighing costs and benefits, and evaluating various alternatives-always keeping in mind 
the physical characteristics of the floodplain in question, the needs and desires of the people who have an interest in 
it, and the potential impact proposed uses will have on the future. 

To ensure that the result of this ongoing, nationwide decisionmaking process is improvement of the status of the 
Nation's floodplains, four broad goals have been recommended, along with a list of objectives that must be accomplished 
to reach them. A schedule for their achievement has also been outlined. A mechanism for evaluating 
progress and for setting additional, more specific goals will be formalized by 1995, and a national forum in 1996 is 
expected to solidify participation in this procedure among the Federal, state, local, and private decisionmakers and 
professional groups concerned with floodprone areas. 

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