When new flood maps take effect in about a year, fewer properties in and around Washington — and in other areas of Beaufort County — will be in the 100-year flood plain.

Properties owners reviewed the proposed maps and other information during an open house conducted by city, state and federal officials who deal with flooding, including representatives from the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program.

Those officials discussed the proposed maps and new flood-hazard and flood-risk data with property owners and elected city and county officials at City Hall on Thursday night.

The new maps show that 22 percent of Beaufort County is in a special flood hazard area.

When new maps become effective, a property owner’s flood risk may have changed, as well along with flood insurance requirements. The new maps don’t become effective until the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners approves a resolution adopting the new maps, according to Commissioner Hood Richardson.

A property owner has an avenue of appeal if he disagrees with NCFMP’s data regarding flood-risk assessment of his property. That appeal must be supported with scientific information, said Randy Mundt, a community development planner with the N.C. Department of Public Safety. Mundt also said the proposed changes are the result of improved data — brought about by improved technology — regarding major storms and hurricanes. NCFMP had been using data from the 1980s, with some of that data incorrect, Mundt said.

Property owners questioned how the new maps would affect their National Flood Insurance Program premiums. Until the proposed maps become finalized and adopted, determining their influence on NFIP rates would be difficult to determine, Mundt said, adding that property owners whose properties move into a category in which their flood risk diminishes should see reductions in their premiums and vice versa.

Richardson advised property owners to wait until the Board of Commissioners formally adopts the new flood maps before taking action regarding their NFIP coverage.

Currently, new houses built in the 100-year floodplain are required to have their first floor (habitable) at the base flood elevation (either 9 or 10 feet in Washington), according to Allen Pittman, the city’s senior building code official. If that required elevation is less after the new flood maps are approved, that likely would lower costs of building houses in the 100-year floodplain, according to Rodman.

If a property is mapped out of a high-risk area, the owner’s flood insurance costs will likely decrease, according to FEMA. If a property is mapped into a high-risk area, the owners will be required to purchase flood insurance if the mortgage is through a federally regulated or insured lender. Property owners can save money with the newly mapped procedure and through a process known as grandfathering provided by the National Flood Insurance Program. Under newly mapped procedure, a property owner, for the first year following a map change, can obtain a flood insurance policy at a rate equal to the lower-cost Preferred Risk Policy rate, though a higher reserve fund assessment and federal policy fee will apply. After the first year, the rate begins transitioning to a full-risk rate, with annual rate increases of no more than 18 percent.

For property owners who do not have flood insurance and find their buildings will be mapped into a special flood hazard area, FEMA encourages them to purchase a PRP policy before the new maps become effective. Such property owners will be covered for their actual flood risk and able to renew their policies at the lower-cost PRP rate for another year during the first 12 months after the new map becomes effective.

People with property near a levee may find their flood risk might be higher than they thought. Hundreds of levees across the country no longer meet federal standards for protection, so when new maps are issued, these areas will be shown as high risk.

The public may access the flood-hazard data online at http://fris.nc.gov/fris/.