Sutter County participates in the voluntary National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to remain eligible for federally backed flood insurance, federally backed mortgages, and federal assistance especially disaster relief and grant funding. FEMA has never mapped all Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) [100-year floodplains] for the entire nation. The focus for FEMA mapping efforts prioritized existing high population densities due to limited funding.

The State Senate Bill 5 (SB5) required all communities to map their entire community and not to wait for FEMA to map or remap all areas. On July 2, 2016, Sutter County was required to adopt floodplain maps for the entire community known as the Local Flood Hazard Area (LFHA) Maps. The Local Flood Hazard Area (LFHA) Maps information supplements the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) Maps or Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) that establishes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requires the community enforce the building requirements using the best available flood information.