The Central Valley Flood Protection Board (Flood Board) is the State regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that appropriate standards are met for the construction, maintenance, and protection of the flood control system that protects life, property, and wildlife habitat in California’s vast and diverse Central Valley from the devastating effects of flooding. The Flood Board issues encroachment permits and works with other agencies to improve the flood protection structures, enforces removal of problematic encroachments, and keeps watch over the Central Valley’s continually improving flood management system.
Do you need a permit from the Flood Board?
Central Valley Flood Protection Board (Board) Approval will be required for any proposed work that is located within a Board-Adopted Plan of Flood Control:
- between or in the vicinity of any Federal Project Levees within a State Plan of Flood Control;
- OR within 100-foot proximity of a non-leveed Regulated Stream listed in California Code of Regulations, Title 23, Waters, Division 1, Article 8, Table 8.1.;
- OR within a Designated Floodway that has been adopted by the Board;
- OR within a Sacramento San Joaquin Drainage District (SSJDD) Easement
These areas are defined by the California Code of Regulations Title 23 Waters (Title 23). Using the Best Available Map (BAM) Viewer is the best way to identify these areas. Please also check your location for SSJDD Easements using the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer.
Board Approval may be required for every proposal or plan of work which may impact these areas. This includes the placement, construction, reconstruction, removal, or abandonment of any landscaping, culvert, bridge, conduit, fence, projection, fill, embankment, building, structure, obstruction, encroachment or works of any kind; also including the planting, excavation, or removal of vegetation, as well as repairs or maintenance thereof.
For more information, please see their Frequently Asked Questions page.
When to Apply for a Permit
All encroachments must be approved by the Board prior to commencement of work. Please keep in mind that timelines for Review may vary widely depending on location and scope of work, and may range anywhere between a few months for minor alterations, to well over a year for very large-scale projects.
Approval may be required post-construction by the Board for existing structures that predate permitting, as well as emergency repair circumstances. This also applies to situations where responsibility for the encroachment has not been clearly established, or where ownership has changed. See Title 231 for additional information.
How to Apply for a Permit
Once you have determined the need for Board Approval, please proceed to their Permit Application Submittal Page. Note that all applications are subject to Fees. Please see their Fee Schedule for more information.
Not sure if your project needs a permit?
Please direct questions to their Permitting team; by phone to (916) 574-0609, e-mail at Questions@CVFlood.ca.gov, or letter to the mailing address below.
Please include your project address or coordinates in your request.
Central Valley Flood Protection Board
Attention: Permitting Section
3310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 170
Sacramento, California 95821
