DRIPPING SPRINGS — The city of Dripping Springs now has its own standalone flood damage prevention ordinance following unanimous approval by city council at its Jan. 7 meeting. This is required for continued compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The city currently regulates development in the floodplain by referencing the Flood Damage Prevention Regulations adopted by Hays County on Feb. 21, 2017. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has produced revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) for Hays County and incorporated areas, including Dripping Springs, and the new maps and Flood Insurance Study will be made effective by FEMA on Jan. 17, 2025 — leading FEMA to request a copy of the city’s updated and adopted ordinance prior to that date, which is required, so that the city is compliant and in good standing with the NFIP.
“Currently, the city regulates development of the floodplain by referring to Hays County's floodplain development ordinance. Updated FEMA maps have been available to the public since 2017 [and] since that time, we utilized those FEMA maps as best available data. In 2018, we supported an appeal to those maps, which were, up until now, considered preliminary by FEMA; we supported an appeal for the Heritage Village and for the Heritage subdivision. FEMA agreed with that appeal and updated the maps at that time,” explained Chad Gilpin, city engineer. “So, as of January 17 of 2025, FEMA is going to make those preliminary maps effective. FEMA requires that we update our ordinance adopting those maps, so that we can stay in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.”
