Sagadahoc County updates hazard plan, seeks public input on flood risks

County officials held a public meeting June 24 at 6 p.m. at the Sagadahoc County Courthouse, with a virtual option through Microsoft Teams for people who could not attend in person.

Sagadahoc County is asking residents from Bath to Bowdoinham to weigh in on a hazard plan for future road repairs, flood protection and access to federal mitigation money. The update is for the county’s 2027 Hazard Mitigation Plan, a multi-jurisdictional document that covers every municipality in Sagadahoc County. The point is to reduce loss of life and property by minimizing the impact of disasters, using measures that range from simple road ditching to changes in local ordinances.

Local hazard mitigation plans can make communities eligible for certain non-emergency grants. Sagadahoc County’s current FEMA-approved plan, the 2021 update, was effective April 28, 2022, and runs through April 27, 2027, which is why the county is moving ahead now on the next version. A National Institute of Building Science finding puts the return at up to $6 in future costs for every $1 spent on mitigation.

The county’s emergency-management materials list the most common local hazards as extreme temperatures, flooding, ice and wind. The Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency has also partnered with the Maine Center for Disease Control on a pilot program focused on extreme-temperature response.

The update schedule stretches across most of 2026. It began with a kickoff on Feb. 17, followed by risk and capability assessments in March and April, mitigation workshops in April and May, and a resident workshop in June. Officials plan to keep building mitigation actions through the summer and early fall, release a draft plan in October, take public comments through Dec. 1, hold a commissioners’ public hearing Dec. 8, and submit the finished plan to the Maine Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 2, 2027.