Using Multi-Objective Management to Reduce Flood Losses in Your

COBRA: The Coastal Barrier Resources Act administered by NOAA. COBRA
places development restrictions on identified coastal barriers.
Community: A term used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
designate local governments eligible to participate in the National Flood Insurance
Program. A local government can be a “community” if the state enabling
legislation gives it the authority to regulate land use and development. It usually
includes cities, villages, townships, boroughs, Indian tribes, and counties (usually
for their unincorporated areas only).
Contour: A line of equal elevation on a topographic (contour) map.
Critical facilities: Buildings or locations vital to the flood response effort, such
as a police station or hospital, and buildings or locations that if flooded would
create secondary disasters, such as hazardous materials facilities.
CRS: Community Rating System of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Datum: A reference surface used to ensure that all elevation records are properly
related. Many communities have their own datum, which was developed before
there was a national standard. The current national datum is the National Geodetic
Vertical Datum (NGVD), which is in relation to mean sea level. It is being
replaced by the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD).
Discharge: The amount of water that passes a point in a given period of time.
Rate of discharge is usually measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).
Divide: The boundary of a watershed. The divide is the high ground and the
river or lake is the lowest ground. Rain and snowmelt flow from the divide to the
receiving stream or lake.
Drainage area: The total land area of a watershed, measured in acres or square
miles.
Drainage basin: See “watershed.”
Dredging: Removing the sediment or sand from a stream channel, lake, or ocean
to provide sufficient depth for navigation or to obtain material for construction or
beach nourishment.
EDA: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.
EPA: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Encroachment: An activity or development project within a floodway that results
in an obstruction to flood flows and/or an increase in flood levels.
Environmental assessment: An examination of the positive and adverse impacts
on the environment of a proposed project.
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