City of Concordia

The City of Concordia is pleased to share that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the City’s request for a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) on April 4, 2025. This action is related to the mapped floodplain and affects property owners within the city limits of Concordia.

After more than a decade of research and advocacy, an estimated 200 structures in Concordia are no longer located within the Special Hazard Flood Zone A, and have been re-assigned a Shaded Zone X designation. This means a 1% chance of flooding (also known as the 100-year storm) may still cause flooding on property but only to an average depth of less than one foot (12 inches). There were also a handful of properties that have now been added to the Special Hazard Flood Zone A designation, though City staff believes the impact to structures on those properties is minimal.

“This LOMR shows how important it is to continue to advocate for what we believe is right, even if it takes several years,” said Bruno Rehbein, City floodplain administrator. “The FEMA floodplain maps went into effect in July 2014 without consideration given to the new 21st Street Dam and Plum Road Dam that were under construction. We are grateful the City Commission continued to support us, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources listened to our story in 2021. Their technical assistance grant allowed us to prove the value of these dams and our underground storm sewer system that ultimately resulted in this LOMR approval.”