Menasha, WI Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Wis. Stat. Sec. 87.30 requires every Wisconsin municipality with mapped floodplain or that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program to adopt a floodplain zoning ordinance meeting the minimum standards of Wis. Admin. Code Chapter NR 116 and 44 CFR Parts 59-72; if a municipality fails to do so within one year of adequate engineering data being available, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will adopt one on the municipality's behalf. The City of Menasha discharges this duty through Chapter 13-3 of Title 13. The chapter is structured as: 13-3.A Floodplain Zoning (purpose/title), 13-3.B General Provisions, 13-3.C Floodway District (FW), 13-3.D Flood Fringe District (FF), 13-3.E General Floodplain District (GFP), 13-3.F Nonconforming Uses, 13-3.G Administration, 13-3.H Amendments, and 13-3.I Enforcement and Penalties. Menasha straddles Winnebago and Calumet Counties at the north end of Lake Winnebago and along the lower Fox River, both of which carry mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas on FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps available through the FEMA Map Service Center and the Wisconsin DNR Floodplain Mapping program. Under NR 116 standards as carried into 13-3.C/D, new residential structures and most fill are prohibited in the regulatory floodway, and in the flood fringe the lowest floor of any habitable space must be elevated to or above the flood protection elevation (regional flood elevation plus a freeboard, typically 2 feet). The Zoning Administrator under 13-3.G issues floodplain permits, which must be obtained before a building permit may be released.