Warrick County, IN Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Warrick County's zoning and drainage codes both point to a standalone Floodplain Management Ordinance for anyone building, filling, grading, or placing a structure in a flood-prone parcel. County Code § 56.16 states plainly that "the Warrick County Floodplain Management Ordinance contains specific requirements that apply to this chapter" and that "each Development shall be reviewed for compliance with the same," meaning the Drainage Board and Area Plan Commission check every proposed development against that separate ordinance before signing off on a drainage plan under Chapter 56.

The county's own definitions in § 56.05 draw a hard jurisdictional line: the FLOODWAY, the channel plus the adjoining land needed to carry the 100-year flood without raising its water surface beyond the regulatory limit, falls under the Indiana Department of Natural Resources when its watershed exceeds one square mile, and under the county's own Local Floodplain Administrator (the Executive Director of the Warrick County Area Plan Commission) when the watershed is smaller. That split determines which agency has authority over a given floodway before dirt moves.

Outside the development-review process, § 53.11 imposes a flat prohibition: storing or stockpiling hazardous or toxic material, including sewage treatment plant stockpiles, within any watercourse or its associated floodway or floodplain is not allowed, and any such material on adjoining property must be adequately contained so it cannot reach a stormwater conveyance or watercourse. Applicants preparing a drainage plan under § 56.12 must also show the property's FIRM-mapped floodplain, floodway and regulatory base flood elevation directly on the site drawings so the Drainage Board can confirm the project sits outside, or is properly elevated within, the mapped flood hazard area.