(TLP:CLEAR) FEMA Makes $56 Million Available for Flood Risk Management

Summary: This week, FEMA announced it made $56 million available to empower state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies as well as community organizations to build and maintain a risk-informed approach to managing flood risk. The funding is available to communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), through two separate grants. Applicants for the grants must submit by deadlines in August.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) grant program funding opportunity makes $41 million available to communities that participate in the NFIP. This is a competitive program. Recipients will use the funding to develop, maintain and deliver high-quality flood maps that enable local leaders to identify, manage and communicate their community’s unique flood threats and reduce risk. This year’s funding opportunity prioritizes completing the more than 1,000 flood mapping projects currently in progress across the country. The application period closes on August 17, 2026.

The FY 2026 Community Assistance Program – State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) funding opportunity makes $15 million available to states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. This is a competitive program. Recipients will use this funding to help communities meet FEMA’s floodplain management regulations, continuously improve risk analysis and proactively take steps to manage risk. These efforts deliver greater flood reduction results for American taxpayers and encourage self-investment from states and territories in capacity and capability building activities. This year’s funding opportunity also requires recipients to use a new Compliance Audit Tool to verify community compliance to strengthen program accountability and consistency. The application period closes on August 11, 2026.

Analyst Note: Flood risk management is often an expensive endeavor, making funding opportunities potentially invaluable to water and wastewater utilities. At the same time, having to respond and recover from flooding is even more costly, with one recent estimate putting the total cost of flooding in the U.S. between $180 and nearly $500 billion each year. Additionally, the positive returns on flood mitigation measures are well documented. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and other organizations, the dividends from investing in pre-disaster mitigation are increasing. In a 2017 report, NIBS estimated every $1 invested in pre-disaster mitigation led to a $6 savings. This was an increase from its 2005 estimate, which said there was a $4 savings. And in 2023, NIBS reported natural hazard mitigation saves $4 to $11 in avoided future losses for each $1 invested. Additionally, in a report describing the massive costs of floods to the U.S., the Joint Economic Committee’s Democratic staff cited information from the Pew Charitable Trusts, which showed projects protecting water and wastewater utilities can produce $31 in returns per $1 invested. In other words, take flood mitigation planning seriously, leveraging funding opportunities like those from FEMA.

Additional Reading:

• FEMA: FEMA Makes $56 Million Available to American Communities for Flood Risk Management

Related WaterISAC PIRs: 16, 17, & 18