Conservation District Programs

Floodplain Monitoring

Conservation districts and the Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) have been collaborating on the Floodplain Monitoring Project since March 1997. The main goal of the program is to work with local municipalities to monitor development in their floodplains.

Eight conservation districts in the Susquehanna Valley participated in the pilot project phase. In the pilot phase, over 135 communities benefited from the contacts and visits from conservation districts through training, review and updating of ordinances and maps, and other education and information. New working relationships have been forged between county conservation districts and municipal governments. The success of the pilot project led DCED to offer the program to additional districts. In 1999, 19 additional conservation districts entered the program, expanding the program throughout the Commonwealth.

Maximum use is being made of the knowledge and experience gained by the pilot districts. Pilot districts helped present training to new districts, and developed new training sessions for realtors and bankers. Several other pilot districts have mentored districts that are new to the program. Mentoring has surmounted a manpower shortage in DCED, allowed pilot districts to increase their institutional capacity, and strengthened working relationships between PACD member districts.

For information on the National Flood Insurance Program, visit: http://www.fema.gov/about/programs/nfip/.