Floodplain Management

Whether you are looking to build on the perfect piece of property or you've just experienced damage from a flood, flood prevention and mitigation is something we should all be concerned with. Wake County's Floodplain & Stormwater Management program provides helpful advice and determines compliance with floodplain regulations in our community.

Requesting Floodplain Information

To obtain floodplain information for properties in Wake County follow these steps:

To determine if your property is located in an unincorporated part of Wake County or a municipality, you can call 919-856-7400 or access the information through Wake County iMaps. The property's address, parcel number (PIN #), or owner's name is required to determine the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Once the ETJ is known, reference the "Floodplain Contact List" to find the Floodplain administrator(s) within your jurisdiction. If your property is located in an incorporated area (city) within Wake County, your best source of floodplain information will be your local government floodplain administrator.

Requirements for Development or Construction in Flood Hazard Areas within Wake County

Scenarios that require a Flood Certification or a Flood Study

The requirement for a Flood Elevation Certificate or Flood Study is determined by Floodplain Management staff through site plan review as part of the building permit application process.

Flood Certifications
A Wake County elevation certificate may be required if any construction activity has been proposed within 100 feet of the Wake County flood hazard soils.

A FEMA elevation certificate is required for a land parcel having proposed development and construction in close proximity to any portion of the FEMA floodplain.

All Flood Certifications must be performed by a Professional Land Surveyor and reviewed by Wake County Floodplain Management Staff.

A $50 fee is collected upon building permit submittal for the floodplain review. The permit will be assigned to a watershed manager for review. The initial review will take 1–5 days to be processed.

Flood Study
A flood study must be performed if the proposed construction activity involves a roadway, driveway and other encroachments crossing through Wake County Flood hazard soils or FEMA floodplain.

A flood study must be performed by a Professional Engineer or Professional Land Surveyor and reviewed by Wake County Floodplain Management Staff.

Submittal Requirements:
A Flood Study submittal consists of three sets of plans and one set of calculations.
The fee for each minor flood study (drainage area less than 100 acres) is $500. The fee for each major flood study (drainage areas of 100 acres or more), including No Rise Certifications and CLOMRs, is $1,000. A submittal checklist is available on the website under Stormwater Management/Forms and Documents.

All submittals are directed to:

Stormwater & Floodplain Management Program
336 Fayetteville St.
P.O. Box 550
Raleigh, NC 27602

Staff:

Melinda Clark	Program Manager	919-856-5531
Betsy Pearce, CFM	Floodplain Administrator	919-856-7541
Watershed Managers	Individual Lot Certifications	919-856-7400

To determine the appropriate watershed manager, see Wake County Watersheds.