Cessnock flood map check

Cessnock City Council publishes its own flood mapping, and the Site Checker reads it for any Cessnock address. The checker reads its adopted flood planning area, its 1% AEP and probable maximum flood extents, and seven 1% AEP hazard layers, one for each catchment study.

Type an address below to see what each map says about the block, with its source and date.

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Is my Cessnock property flood affected?

A Cessnock property is flood affected for planning when any part of it is in Cessnock City Council's flood planning area, which the council draws at the 1% AEP extent plus 0.5 m. The Site Checker above reads the council's layers, the NSW Planning Portal map and the NSW SES extents, and shows each answer separately. The official answer is still Cessnock City Council's, and the questions below explain how to get it.

Where is the Cessnock City Council flood map?

Cessnock City Council's Flooding Hub, an online map of adopted flood studies only, is linked from its flooding page. Its flood studies page lists the Cessnock Citywide Flood Study, the Branxton Flood Level Review and studies of Black Creek, the Hunter River, Wallis and Swamp Creek and Wollombi.

Which Cessnock City Council flood layers does the Site Checker read?

The flood planning area has two parts: the riverine area, and a fine grained overland flow area of about 177 square kilometres, which is why a large lot well away from a creek can still touch it. Each 1% AEP extent names its own study.

The checker asks 10 layers: Flood planning area, 1% AEP plus freeboard; 1% AEP flood extent; Probable maximum flood extent; 1% AEP hazard, Black Creek stage 1; 1% AEP hazard, Black Creek stage 2; 1% AEP hazard, Greta; 1% AEP hazard, Heddon Greta; 1% AEP hazard, Hunter River; 1% AEP hazard, Swamp and Fishery Creek; and 1% AEP hazard, Wollombi. Every one answered a test query on 18 September 2026. Eight hydraulic category layers are left out, because each holds floodway, flood storage and flood fringe in one field and a reading could call a fringe lot a storage area.

What does the Cessnock flood planning area mean for building?

It is the land where Cessnock City Council's flood controls apply, and the council's own layer describes it as the 1% AEP extent plus 0.5 m, which equals the habitable floor level for development. 1% AEP means a flood with a 1 in 100 chance of being reached or exceeded in any year. The council uses this layer to write its planning certificates.

How do I get a flood certificate from Cessnock City Council?

Use the Flood Certificate and Flood Data Application Form, an online form Cessnock City Council provides for information in writing about the 1 in 100 year flood level for a property. The council says its flood information certificates summarise flooding for individual properties. The form is on its forms page.

Why does the Cessnock City Council map differ from the state map?

They are drawn by different bodies for different jobs. The NSW SES Flood Database compiles flood extents from studies across the state, while Cessnock City Council's map is the one its planning controls are written against, and a flood planning area usually sits above the 1% AEP extent because it adds freeboard. A withdrawn LEP flood map on the Planning Portal shows as a former map with its date, never as a current control. The checker never merges the sources into one verdict, and where they disagree, Cessnock City Council settles it.

What else do people ask?

Does the Cessnock flood map show how deep the water would get?

No. An extent says whether land is inside a modelled flood, not how deep or fast the water is. Flood levels in metres AHD (height above average sea level) come from Cessnock City Council, through its Flood Certificate and Flood Data Application Form.

If my Cessnock block is outside the mapped area, can it still flood?

Yes. Cessnock's hazard layers each cover one catchment study, so a lot outside those catchments can have an extent reading but no hazard band from the council. Land outside every map can still flood from overland flow no study has modelled, and a council can apply flood controls to land its published map does not show.

Is this the same as a section 10.7 planning certificate?

No. Cessnock City Council's section 10.7 planning certificate is the formal statement of the controls on a lot, including whether flood related development controls apply. Order one through Cessnock City Council online certificates.

Where does this information come from?

This page and the Site Checker are general information from published maps, not a flood certificate, a section 10.7 planning certificate or a survey. They do not replace advice from the council, your certifier, an engineer, a lawyer or your own designer. Check any decision to buy or build against the council's own documents.