Elevation Certificates in Rancho Cordova, CA

Contour Survey prepares FEMA elevation certificates in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County. We are based up Highway 50 in Lotus, so Rancho Cordova is a short drive.

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

Elevation Certificates in Rancho Cordova: Local Conditions

Rancho Cordova has about six miles of the American River along its northern edge, and the river shapes the city's flood picture. Upstream, Folsom Dam controls American River floods, and the federal work on it continues. The Joint Federal Project, finished in 2017, added an auxiliary spillway with submerged gates so operators can free up flood storage quickly before a storm. The Army Corps has also been raising the main dam and its dikes by 3.5 feet since 2019. Downstream, the Corps has been building erosion protection on both banks of the lower American River so the levees can carry sustained flows of up to 160,000 cubic feet per second. The FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Sacramento County lists American River levee segments on Rancho Cordova's map panels and shows Zones AE and X in the city.

The maps are still changing. In September 2022 FEMA released preliminary flood maps for Sacramento County and the cities of Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and Sacramento, with revised hazards along several creek systems and a 90-day appeal period. If you received a letter about that update, or a lender cites a panel you don't recognize, find out which map is in effect for your parcel before you decide anything about insurance. The City takes part in the Sacramento County multi-jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and points residents to the National Flood Insurance Program, noting that a new flood policy usually has a 30-day waiting period.

An elevation certificate in Rancho Cordova starts the same way as anywhere on the Sacramento County FIRM: a benchmark tie on NAVD88, then lowest adjacent grade, lowest floor, garage and crawlspace elevations, and machinery such as HVAC units. We photograph the building and certify the EC. If a new or preliminary map puts the edge of an AE zone across your lot but the ground at the house is above the base flood elevation, a letter of map amendment is the standard fix, and we can file it through eLOMA when it qualifies. FEMA charges no review fee for a LOMA. More on our elevation certificate service, on nearby Folsom and Citrus Heights, or on our Rancho Cordova area page.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA · All surveying in Rancho Cordova: Rancho Cordova 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 Rancho Cordova: FAQ

Not automatically. The dam and the American River levees reduce flood risk, but your flood zone is whatever the effective FIRM shows for your parcel. Creek floodplains are mapped separately from the river. Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, and if the map puts your building in an A zone, an elevation certificate shows where the building actually sits relative to the base flood elevation.

If the change would put your building in or near a Special Flood Hazard Area, a current EC tells you where you stand before the map takes effect. It supports insurance rating, and if the ground at the house is above the new base flood elevation it is the basis for a LOMA once the map is effective. A certified EC does not expire unless the building changes.

We are based in Lotus in El Dorado County, a straight run down Highway 50 to Rancho Cordova. The licensed surveyor who signs the certificate also works the job, so a follow-up visit for a missing measurement or a second building is easy to schedule.

Need Elevation Certificates in Rancho Cordova?

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

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

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