Wichita, KS Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Sec. 27.06.150 applies in every numbered and unnumbered A, AE, and AH zone where base flood elevation data have been provided under Sec. 27.06.120(b). New construction or substantial improvement of a residential structure, including a manufactured home, must have its lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least two feet above base flood elevation, with the elevation certified by a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer.

Commercial, industrial, and other non-residential structures, including manufactured homes, face the same two-foot freeboard, or the owner can floodproof the building instead: below the two-foot mark the structure must be watertight, with walls substantially impermeable to water and structural components able to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and the effects of buoyancy. A registered professional engineer or architect must certify that the floodproofing meets the standard, and the lowest-floor elevation still must be certified by a licensed surveyor or engineer; both certifications go to the Floodplain Administrator under Sec. 27.06.080(b)(7), (8), and (9).

Fully enclosed areas below the elevated lowest floor that are used only for parking, building access, or storage must let flood water in and out automatically. Absent a licensed engineer's or architect's certified design, the enclosure needs at least two openings with a combined net area of one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding, and the bottom of every opening must sit no higher than one foot above grade; screens, louvers, or valves are allowed if they still let water pass automatically.

Sec. 27.06.110 requires the Administrator to record an affidavit with the Sedgwick County Register of Deeds stating the lowest-floor and floodproofing elevations for every permit issued, at the applicant's expense, so freeboard compliance runs with the land.