This office administers floodplain determination & floodplain development permitting for property located in the unincorporated areas of Washington County.
Because Washington County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, development and construction within the floodplain requires a permit and authorization before construction begins. Development and construction that occurs outside of the floodplain does not require a floodplain development permit.
For floodplain information on property in the City of Brenham contact City of Brenham Development Services.
For floodplain information on property in the City of Burton email Burton City Secretary at burtonsecr@cityofburton-tx.gov or call 979-289-3400.
Find floodplain administrators in other areas here.
Permit applications may be completed at our office or requested by email. To avoid delay, please include as much of the following information as you can:
After submitting your permit application, the fee may be paid by cash, check, money order, or Credit/Debit Card (see Fees - Payments). Floodplain Determinations/Permit Applications are $100 for single-family residential, and $200 for non-single-family residential.
Reduce Flood Risk is an online interactive flood mitigation resource that aims to help property owners better understand their flood risk and the most effective flood mitigation strategies for their particular property.
TexasFlood.org is a website of the Texas Water Development Board that provides flood-related data and information on what to do before, during, and after a flooding event.
Base Level Engineering (BLE) data has been developed for some areas of Washington County that includes estimated Base Flood Elevations, and Flood Depths. BLE results are available for use by the public on the Estimated Base Flood Elevation Viewer.
Floodplain maps of Washington County may be viewed at our office, and are available online from several sources.
1. The floodplain may be viewed on the Washington County Engineering and Development Services Web Map Application. After opening the map, select "Washington County Floodplain" from the Layers List.
2. The floodplain may be viewed on the Washington County Appraisal District Interactive Map. After opening the map, select "Floodplain" from the Layer List.
3. The Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is available from FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.
Option A: Enter an address, a place, or longitude/latitude coordinates for the location, and click “Search”.
Option B: If the address is unknown, or you want to see a list of all flood maps for a given jurisdiction, click “Search All Products”.
4. The FEMA flood hazard file is available in Google Earth. You must first have Google Earth installed on your computer before downloading and viewing the FEMA flood hazard file. Click on this “Stay Dry” link for information and instructions.
Please see Floodplain Determination and Permitting Information and Floodplain Determination and Permitting Procedures for additional information. For a listing of some floodplain professionals working in our area see our Floodplain Services Directory. The permit application, fee, plans, and specifications of the development must be submitted to this office for review and approval before construction begins.
Additional permits may be required to comply with state, and federal regulations for development within areas designated as wetlands. For information on wetlands determination and regulation see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For information on flood insurance see the National Flood Insurance Program or contact an insurance agent.
For additional information and assistance contact Mark Marzahn by email at mmarzahn@wacounty.com or by phone at 979-277-6290 x 3.