Drainage Review

Drainage Administration & Regulation

Drainage Administration is one of the regulatory activities that the Planning and Development Department provides for the benefit of the residents of unincorporated Maricopa County. This activity ensures compliance with the drainage regulations for Maricopa County. The purpose of these regulations is the reduction of existing and potential flooding and damage caused by local storm water runoff.

The Drainage Regulations apply to all development of land conditions that may affect drainage systems and patterns. The regulation defines a drainage system as any system or feature over which storm waters flow and development as any man made change to the property.

This regulation also has the definition of drainage as runoff which flows over land as a result of precipitation. This definition includes sheet flow and flows which may be concentrated, with or without a defined channel.

Drainage Clearance

With regard to obtaining a Drainage Clearance, applicants shall reference the Current Drainage Policies and Standards Manual (PDF) and can be downloaded for free from the Flood Control District Documents section.

Note: Projects that fall within a designated floodplain may require a floodplain permit with additional fees and reviews initiated by Planning & Development staff. See if I live in a floodplain. If you do live in a floodplain, you should contact our office at (602) 506-3301, or contact our On Call reviewers to get an overview of what may be required.