A group of residents huddle around a new Federal Emergency Management Agency map in a recent public meeting that marked the beginning of FEMA’s appeals process. Photo by Eva Ruth Moravec

San Antonio-area residents have about three months to appeal their property’s risk of flooding, designated in new Federal Emergency Management Agency maps that municipalities will soon adopt.

“We’re coming and showing you these maps,” said Nefie Garza, San Antonio River Authority floodplain manager, at a recent meeting held to educate residents on the process. “If there are areas that are not right, we have 90 days to gather the technical data and appeal.”

Garza said that in 2002, area agencies created Bexar Regional Watershed Management, comprised of leaders who work collaboratively to solve area flooding issues. Two years later, FEMA asked the San Antonio River Authority to remap Bexar County. The National Flood Insurance Program, which carries all flood insurance in the United States, uses the maps to set flood insurance rates.

“The new maps are actual computer models, and we covered 1,100 stream miles in Bexar County,” Garza said. “We got the best information available, and we’re all going to benefit from this, because we now have a data set.”

And while Garza’s agency’s maps are much more detailed than the ones they will replace, there are still mistakes, he said. Developments that were built after San Antonio River Authority started the mapping process may or may not be included, so residents are encouraged to look at maps and appeal if a subdivision or structure is missing.

Residents should also look at maps once the final versions are adopted, since subdivisions may have been added.

Each appeal must be addressed, and it could take one year or more to respond to each one. After that, the maps will be officially adopted. If residents purchase flood insurance before the maps are official, their rate for one year remains the same even if their designation has changed.

According to a FEMA fact sheet on insurance, “the simplest way to grandfather is to purchase a flood insurance policy before the new map takes effect and maintain coverage without a lapse,” but when the policy renews after one year, the grandfathered rate will no longer be available.

Once the 90-day window is closed, residents will have a more difficult time appealing map determinations. Visit www.BexarFloodFacts.org for more information on how to appeal or protest.