FEMA flood zone rules in Wauwatosa, WI — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Wauwatosa participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and enforces a Floodplain Ordinance that meets FEMA and Wisconsin DNR minimum standards under Wis. Stat. Sec. 87.30 and Wis. Admin. Code Chapter NR 116. The principal regulated waterways are the Menomonee River and Honey Creek, an 8.7-mile tributary that flows through Greenfield, Milwaukee, West Allis, and Wauwatosa. The currently effective Milwaukee County FEMA Flood Insurance Study and FIRM panels became effective September 26, 2008. FEMA issued a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) in April 2022 reflecting MMSD's County Grounds detention basins, the Hart Park floodwall, and other improvements. Any development inside the mapped 1% annual chance (100-year) floodplain requires a Floodplain Development Permit before construction.
Wisconsin requires every NFIP community to adopt and enforce a floodplain zoning ordinance meeting Wis. Stat. Sec. 87.30 and Wis. Admin. Code Chapter NR 116, which incorporates 44 CFR Parts 59-72. Wauwatosa's ordinance is administered through Title 24 of the Municipal Code; the regulated areas track FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Milwaukee County, with an effective date of September 26, 2008. The city's principal flood sources are the Menomonee River and Honey Creek. The 100-year floodplain is divided into the floodway (the channel and adjoining areas required to convey the regional flood) and the flood fringe. Under NR 116 standards: new residential structures and most fill are prohibited in the floodway; in the flood fringe, the lowest floor of habitable space must be elevated to or above the flood protection elevation, defined in NR 116.13 as the regional flood elevation plus a freeboard (typically 2 feet). All development inside the mapped floodplain (buildings, additions, remodeling, fill, excavation, fences, etc.) requires a Floodplain Development Permit issued by the city before any building permit is granted. Wauwatosa has worked with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) and the City of Milwaukee on a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) issued by FEMA in April 2022 covering the Menomonee River from North Avenue to its mouth, reflecting the County Grounds Flood Management Basins, Hart Park floodwall, and the North 70th Street bridge replacement. The 2008 FIRMs remain in force until FEMA issues a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR). Floodplain permit questions go to Maggie Anderson, Senior Civil Engineer, manderson@wauwatosa.net or (414) 479-3444. Authoritative maps are available at FEMA's Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and the Wisconsin DNR Floodplain Mapping Program.
Wis. Stat. Sec. 87.30(2) and NR 116.21 require enforcement of local floodplain zoning. Violations - including unpermitted fill or structural development in the floodway, building habitable space below the flood protection elevation in the flood fringe, or developing without a Floodplain Development Permit - can result in citations, daily forfeitures, removal/restoration orders, denial or revocation of building permits, and loss of NFIP eligibility for the property. Misrepresenting elevation data on a permit application is independently actionable. A community's failure to enforce can lead to NFIP suspension under 44 CFR Part 59.
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