Elevation Certificates in Brentwood, CA

FEMA elevation certificates for Brentwood homes and buildings near the Marsh Creek system in eastern Contra Costa County, signed by a California licensed land surveyor.

Elevation certificates from $1,000 · (510) 543-2220

Elevation Certificates in Brentwood: Local Conditions

Brentwood is one of the quieter flood communities in east county. FEMA's countywide Flood Insurance Study states that there are no known principal flood problems within the city, and a lot of the credit goes to work done upstream. The Marsh-Kellogg Watershed Plan, built by the Contra Costa County Flood Control District with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, put the Marsh Creek flood detention reservoir at the edge of the foothills south of Brentwood and improved 36 miles of channel on Marsh, Sand, and Deer Creeks. Those channels were designed for the 2-percent-annual-chance flood, which is a smaller storm than the 1-percent flood FEMA maps, so mapped flood zones and floodways still follow the creek corridors through town.

History is the reason those corridors are still mapped. In the December 1955 flood, known locally as the Big Flood, about 460 families were evacuated across the county, including from Brentwood, Byron, and Knightsen. Today the people who call us from Brentwood tend to fall into a few groups: owners whose lender flagged a lot backing onto a creek, buyers who want to know before closing whether a house is above or below the Base Flood Elevation, and builders who need a certified elevation for a permit. In many of these cases the house sits on a graded pad well above the creek, and the honest answer is that a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) may be possible. Brentwood is FEMA community 060439 on the countywide FIRM, in NAVD88; NGVD29 figures on older Marsh Creek drawings run about 2.4 feet different.

The survey itself is straightforward. We tie to NAVD88 benchmarks with GNSS, run the building with a Trimble S3 total station, and record the lowest adjacent grade, highest adjacent grade, top of the lowest floor, garage slab, and the elevation of HVAC units and other service equipment, then take the required photos and sign FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152. When the lowest adjacent grade is at or above the BFE, we can prepare the LOMA and file it through eLOMA where eligible; FEMA charges no fee for a LOMA. More detail is on our elevation certificates page. See also Oakley, Discovery Bay, and our Brentwood area page.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA · All surveying in Brentwood: Brentwood land surveying

What's Included

Signed and sealed by a California Professional Land Surveyor
Completed on FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152, with the required photographs
Elevations tied to a published benchmark on the flood map’s vertical datum
eLOMA submission as a licensed professional when the building qualifies
Construction-stage ECs for permits: construction drawings, building under construction, and finished construction
Sacramento region, Central Valley, Delta, and Bay Area

Our Process

Address & Flood Map Check

Send the address and the reason you need the certificate: lender letter, insurance quote, building permit, or a LOMA. We pull the effective FIRM panel, flood zone, and Base Flood Elevation before quoting, and tell you up front if a LOMA looks possible.

Benchmark Tie

We tie the site to a published benchmark on the vertical datum the flood map uses, with GNSS and a total station. Every elevation on the certificate is measured from that tie, not estimated from a contour map.

Building Measurement

We measure the top of the bottom floor, the next higher floor, the garage slab, the lowest and highest adjacent grade, the lowest machinery and equipment, and the flood openings, and take the photographs the form requires.

Signed EC, and the LOMA if It Qualifies

You receive the completed, signed Elevation Certificate as a PDF. If the lowest adjacent grade is at or above the Base Flood Elevation, we prepare the LOMA request and submit it to FEMA, through eLOMA when the building meets its criteria.

Elevation Certificates in Brentwood: FAQ

The Marsh, Sand, and Deer Creek channel improvements were designed for the 2-percent-annual-chance flood. FEMA maps the 1-percent-annual-chance flood, so some land along the creek corridors is still mapped in the Special Flood Hazard Area.

Possibly. If the lowest ground touching the house is at or above the Base Flood Elevation, a LOMA can remove the structure from the Special Flood Hazard Area. We measure that grade and, if the numbers support it, file the LOMA through FEMA's eLOMA system.

No. A completed and certified FEMA elevation certificate doesn't expire unless the building is physically changed in a way that affects the certified elevations, such as an addition or a raised floor.

Need Elevation Certificates in Brentwood?

Elevation certificates start at $1,000. Call (510) 543-2220 with the Brentwood address and we'll check the flood map and give you a fixed price.

Get a Quoteor(510) 543-2220

Private licensed surveyor, not affiliated with FEMA • Homeowners welcome • Response within 24 hours

Call (510) 543-2220 Get a Quote