Georgetown County, SC Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Georgetown County builds a one-foot freeboard margin directly into its floodplain construction standards. Article II, Section A defines Design Flood Elevation (DFE) as the elevation of the Base Flood plus one foot at any given location in the Special Flood Hazard Area, measured to the top of the lowest floor in A and AE zones, to the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member in VE zones, and to the bottom of the frame for manufactured homes. That definition becomes a hard construction rule in Article IV, Section B: new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure, including manufactured homes, shall have the lowest floor elevated no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation, and no basements are permitted.

The same one-foot standard carries over to non-residential structures, which may flood-proof in lieu of elevating in A-zones, and to manufactured homes placed in a park or subdivision. Where a builder elevates a house on solid perimeter walls instead of piers, the ordinance requires flood openings sized to automatically equalize hydrostatic pressure, engineered to the elevated-buildings standard in Article IV, Section B.4, so the foundation walls do not trap floodwater against the structure. Electrical devices, switches, and junction boxes in these zones must sit above the DFE line, not just the base flood elevation, giving the freeboard a functional as well as a regulatory purpose.

A registered professional engineer, architect, or land surveyor must certify the as-built lowest floor elevation to the local floodplain administrator before vertical construction proceeds beyond that point, and the certification becomes part of the permit file the Building Official keeps for the property.