Understand Your Flood Risk
Anywhere it rains, it can flood. All rivers, streams, tributaries, and canals–regardless of size–have the potential to flood. There is a one-in-four chance that a high-risk area will be flooded during a 30-year period.
Click the button below to search your address on the Mile High Flood District (MHFD) Flood Hazard Map.
Get Flood Insurance
Flood Insurance is recommended for everyone, but especially if you are in or near a mapped floodplain area. Standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood losses. Property owners can insure their buildings and contents, and renters can insure just their contents.
- You cannot be denied flood insurance.
- You do not need to be within a floodplain to qualify.
- If you live in a floodplain or high-risk area and have a federally backed mortgage, your mortgage lender requires you to have flood insurance.
- There is a 30-day waiting period before the policy becomes effective.
- Following a natural disaster, federal assistance may be limited if you don’t have flood insurance.
Protect Property
Before a Flood
- Obtain flood insurance.
- Keep trash and debris out of the drainage channels.
- Ensure water flows away from your house.
- Report potential problems like blocked culverts.
- Construct barriers around window well.
- Floodproof buildings.
- Install a valve to prevent sewage back-up.
After a Flood
- Cover broken windows and holes in the roof or walls.
- Call your insurance agent. Proceed with immediate clean-up measures to reduce any health hazards.
- You need to obtain a permit for repairs if it’s more than just cleanup! Contact your Adams County Floodplain Manager.
Build Smarter, Safer, and Responsibly!
All development in the floodplain requires an Adams County permit. Get a floodplain permit before you build. Any construction in the floodway, including new, substantially damaged, or improved buildings in the floodplain, must meet special requirements.
Protect People
Before a Flood
- Plan evacuation routes to move to higher ground.
- Have photocopies of important documents and valuable papers away from your house (safe deposit box).
- Be prepared to move your valuables to a higher location.
During a Flood
- Stay alert for sirens and possible flood warnings (TV, radio, websites, and social media).
- If you are caught in the house by floodwater, move to a higher floor or the roof. Wait for help.
- Avoid contact with floodwater—it is contaminated and potentially hazardous.
- Do not drive through flooded areas—most flood deaths occur in cars.
- Do not drive around road barriers—the road or bridge may be washed out.
- Do not walk through flowing water—six inches of moving water can knock you off
your feet.
After a Flood
- Stay informed–tune to a battery-powered radio or use your phone to check local websites and social media.
- The structural, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as gas lines and water wells, should be professionally inspected for safety before re-entering your home.
- Be alert for gas leaks, turn off outside gas lines to your meter, use a flashlight (no open flames) to inspect for damage, turn off the gas, and ventilate the area.
- Stay away from downed power lines, electrical wires, and utility boxes—electricity
can travel through water. - Look before you step—the ground and floors may be covered with hazardous debris and slippery mud.
Flood Map Information
Adams County can provide flood map information and flood related services, such as:
- Basic information from the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
- Whether the property is in a floodplain or Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).
- The community number, panel number, suffix, and date of the FIRM.
- The FIRM zone (A, AE, etc).
- The Base Flood Elevation (BFE) when shown on the FIRM along with the elevation datum.
- Whether there is a floodway and whether the property is in a floodway.
- Details and requirements for developing in a floodplain, most development is prohibited in a floodway.
- Other local drainage and flooding problems not mapped on the FIRM.
- Historical Flood Information.
- Whether and when the area has been flooded in the past.
- Whether the property is in a repetitive loss area or has experienced flood damage more than once.
- Advice about drainage issues, flooding concerns, and floodproofing buildings.
Floodplain Benefits
Floodplains allow water to spread over a large area reducing the speed and volume of floodwater downstream. Dumping trash and debris into ditches and watercourses is unlawful per Adams County Regulations 9-05-04 Watercourses Protection. Report flood hazards, clogged and blocked storm drains, channels, or streams.
Water Quality Counts
Help keep our lakes and streams clean: Properly dispose of motor oil; pick up pet waste; use car washes; and follow directions when using fertilizers, pesticides, and weed control chemicals. Nothing but rainwater should enter the storm drains per Adams County Ordinance No. 11. Report dumping: swq@adamscountyco.gov.
Stay Connected
Adams County Stormwater Utility
4430 S. Adams County Pkwy.
Brighton, CO 80601
