CreekCheckerWalla Walla · Washington

Washington · statewide what-if map · unofficial

Any Washington address: creeks near your lot

Washington’s counties and cities must review their critical areas rules, creek buffers included, on a schedule set in state law. Find your lot, see the mapped streams near it and try a what-if width.

Where does your county stand? →The two-minute brief →

  • Your lot (tax parcel)
  • What-if 100 ft — a width you pick, not an official buffer
  • WDFW-estimated riparian management zone
  • Area checked
  • DNR stream type:S shoreline of the stateF fish-bearingN non-fishU unknownX no type designationditch, canal or pipe

Type S streams are usually under the local Shoreline Master Program, not the critical areas stream buffer.

What you will see

  1. Your lot, from the statewide tax-parcel map.
  2. Whether a city or the county sets the rules there.
  3. The DNR-mapped streams nearby and how far they are from your lot line.
  4. WDFW’s estimated riparian management zone, where it maps one.
  5. A what-if band at a width you choose, and your county’s update status.

Read this first

This map is an awareness tool, not a legal determination. It shows public statewide data near a lot. Only your county or city can say which critical areas rules apply to a property and how they are measured. Nothing here is legal advice.

The what-if band is a width you choose, drawn around DNR’s mapped stream centerlines. It is not drawn from any county’s or city’s rule, proposed or adopted, even where a local rule uses the same width. Before you buy, sell or build, confirm with your city or county planning office.

Where the data comes from

  • Streams: Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Forest Practices Division, watercourses with water types S, F, N, U and X. DNR says its water types are “intended for DNR Forest Practices regulatory purposes only” and provides the data “as is.” Lines are centerlines; local rules usually measure from the ordinary high water mark or top of bank.
  • Estimated riparian management zone: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. WDFW calls its polygons “estimates of RMZ locations and not surveys of known RMZ locations,” says site-scale delineation “requires field verification,” and says the data are “not intended to support site-scale land use decisions – other than for use as a flagging tool.” It is not a city or county rule.
  • Lots: Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech), Washington State Counties, statewide tax parcels, “for informational purposes only” and “not suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes.” New plats and recent boundary changes may be missing.
  • City limits and urban growth areas: WaTech, Washington State City Urban Growth Areas; boundaries are not a legal survey. Counties: WSDOT County Boundaries. Tribal lands are not shown.
  • Address search: Esri World Geocoder (results are shown, not stored), then the county’s parcel addresses.
  • County status: Where does your county stand?, from official county and city pages on the date shown.

The map layers are read live in your browser from the public services above; county status comes from our own checked list. For Walla Walla city lots, the detailed City map uses the City’s own buffer layer.