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Stormwater and Flood Zone
Is my property in a flood zone?
Flood zones include all special Flood Hazard Areas designated by the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These hazard areas are identified on FEMA-approved Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). In addition, These flood zone areas have been shown graphically on the Town of Lincoln GIS/Mapping system. These areas should be treated as an approximate representation of the FEMA maps.
FEMA has produced updated flood maps in 2025, However, Lincoln’s GIS maps still show the lateral extent shown on the older version of the map (2014). FEMA’s 2025 FIRM maps use LiDAR (topo) technology which is much more accurate.
- Although the FEMA Flood Elevations (in Lincoln) have not changed since 2014, the maps may show the flood zone area as more extensive than previously displayed.
- You can see the updated lateral extent of the flood zone by visiting the FEMA Flood Map Changes Viewer: https://hazards-fema.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5852ea902db44e55bfce395799315f9c
- Enter an address in the upper right-hand box labeled “Find Address or Place” and hit enter
Note: if you are proposing any work near the flood zone, please contact the Conservation Department Staff at 781-259-2612. It’s likely you will need to hire a professional land surveyor to accurately depict the location of the flood zone on your property and the location of your proposed work.
What is stormwater?
When rain or melting snow picks up trash or chemicals, that's stormwater pollution. It's the fastest growing type of water pollution in Massachusetts. As stormwater flows it picks up oils, salt, litter, sediment and other pollutants. Impervious areas prevent stormwater runoff from naturally soaking into the ground. These areas include buildings, driveways, parking lots, sidewalks and streets.
This stormwater runoff can flow directly into the Town’s street storm drain collection system, or travel overland before it empties into water bodies like a pond, stream, river, or wetland with little or no treatment to remove the pollutants that could be transporting. These are the same waterbodies we use for recreating and providing public drinking water.
Stormwater is a pollution problem that affects everyone. If we all do our part to help, we can reach our goal of clean and healthy waterways. Take a look at the Planning Department's Stormwater webpage to see what the Town of Lincoln is doing to control stormwater pollution. Businesses, institutions and developers should also visit this page to see how they can help.