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Flood Preparedness

Flood Zone Construction Requirements

Flood Preparedness

Flood Zone Construction Requirements

The City of Sacramento has adopted building codes and procedures designed to protect lives and property in the event of a 100-year flood.

Specific floodplain management regulations and building codes are enforced to regulate construction in at-risk areas throughout the city.

200-year floodplain requirements went into effect July 2016.

Know the basics

Get the proper permit before you start construction
Don't dig, plant or build at the base of a levee
If you're building near a levee, know encroachment levee regulations. Visit Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
Don't throw your trash or debris in streams, channels or open bodies of water
Elevate your exterior HVAC units

This flood zone requirements chart highlights the elevation and hold harmless requirements for each flood zone.

Below you will also find definitions of important terms.

Elevation certificates

The City of Sacramento maintains competed FEMA Elevation Certificates showing “finished construction” elevations for buildings constructed or substantially improved while in the Special Flood Hazard Area.

To obtain a copy of an elevation certificate, call 916-808-5061 or email us at floodinfo@cityofsacramento.org.

FEMA provides a fillable PDF form for elevation certificates.

Elevation certificates on file

Click here to download PDF

New regulations for the A99 Flood Zone

Effective July 1, 2024, new FEMA regulations go into effect in the A99 flood zone.

These changes are important for developers to be aware of because they may affect upcoming construction or improvements in the Natomas Basin, which is considered a Special Flood Hazard Area and is designated by FEMA as an A99 flood zone.

Projects that propose new construction or substantial improvement/damage (SI/SD) must meet the following flood related requirements:

Residential structures must elevate so that the lowest floor (including basement) is a minimum of one-foot above the highest adjacent 100-year event HGL of the City’s drainage system and at least 18-inches above the Controlling Overland Release Point in the public right-of-way and provide Elevation Certificates (ECs) signed by a registered Professional Engineer, Surveyor or Architect.
Commercial structures must elevate OR floodproof to a minimum of one-foot above the highest adjacent 100-year event HGL of the City’s drainage system and at least 18-inches above the Controlling Overland Release Point in the public right-of-way and provide ECs signed by a registered Professional Engineer, Surveyor or Architect. If floodproofing, a Floodproofing Certificate is required in addition to the ECs and must be signed by a registered Professional Engineer, Surveyor or Architect.
Execute a hold harmless agreement with the City.

If you have any questions about the upcoming changes, contact the City's Flood Hotline at floodinfo@cityofsacramento.org or 916-808-5061.

Resources

For more information on property protection methods, visit the County's Storm Ready page.

You can also contact the City’s flood information hotline at 916-808-5061, or email us at floodinfo@cityofsacramento.org, for information on potential grants or clarification of substantial damage/improvement rules.

Terms and definitions

“Base flood” means a flood that has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the “100-year flood”).

“Base flood elevation” or “BFE” means the water surface elevation resulting from the base flood.

“No Adverse Impact” means that the proposed construction or development (including substantial improvements) shall not result in any increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the base flood; provided that for construction or development located within a special flood hazard area but outside of any floodway designated on any FIRM, the local administrator may waive this requirement for specified encroachments if the local administrator determines that any increase in flood levels resulting from such encroachments will be negligible.

“New construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after February 23, 1982, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

“Substantial damage” means:

Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred;

Flood-related damage sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a ten (10) year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each such event, on the average, equals or exceeds twenty-five (25) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. This is also known as “repetitive loss.”

“Substantial improvement” means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, whether requiring one or multiple permits, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure either:

Before the start of construction of the substantial improvement; or If the structure has been damaged, and is being restored, before the damage occurred.

The term “substantial improvement” does not, however, include either:

Any project for improvement of a structure to correct violations of existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an historic structure.

City Code

Full text of the City’s Floodplain Management Requirements

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