FEMA & Flood Plains

Given the terrain, topography and climate in the tri-county area it is well known that surface water is prevalent and common to a majority of properties in the region, ranging in size from small streams to large rivers.  With this large movement of surface water of course comes flooding.  FEMA is the primary agency that determines flood plain areas and flood elevations as well as regulations of construction or development within flood plain areas.

Construction workers using surveying equipment on site.

Floodplain Surveys

Across the country FEMA has a well-established mapping system that depicts the flood limits for thousands of rivers and streams.  If you need assistance determining the location of the flood limits on your property or the flood elevation for building purposes give us a call and we can locate them on your property.

Elevation Certificates

In addition to locating the vertical elevation of a flood plain we can also prepare an Elevation Certificate which is a signed/sealed document certifying that your proposed or existing structure is above or below the flood plain elevation.  An Elevation Certificate can be a valuable document to keep with property records but is most commonly required from the following organizations:

  • Local Building Department
  • Financial Lenders
  • Insurance Companies
Surveying equipment on tripod near water.
Man analyzing maps on dual monitors.

LOMA/LOMR Applications

In FEMA’s mapping system there are two common zones that are shown on the flood maps; Zone A and Zone AE.  While Zone AE will have flood elevations determined by FEMA, Zone A does not provide flood elevations.  If you have a property or structure that is shown in a Zone A flood plain and believe that your property or structure is not in fact in the flood plain then you can submit a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision (LOMA) to have the map amended or altered so that your property or structure is shown outside the flood plain.  Many times, this is done for insurance purposes because the insurance companies will only review the FEMA maps to determine Insurance Rates.

Hydrology Study

We can prepare hydrology studies for various reasons but the most common scenario is to determine the flood elevation of a flood plain that is Zone A.  Because FEMA does not have flood elevations in many of the smaller tributaries to large rivers it is left to the surveyor or engineer to determine the flood elevation.  If you are needing a flood elevation for a property in Zone A give us a call and we can determine if a hydrology study is necessary.