Clay County seawall guide.
River, lake and creek shorelines.

Permit offices

• Town of Orange Park: Building Inspection and Permitting, through Economic & Community Development at 904-264-2635.
• City of Green Cove Springs: SmartGov online permitting; City Hall 904-297-7500.
• Unincorporated Clay County (Fleming Island and others): Clay County Building Division. Confirm current submittal steps with the county directly.
• State and federal: DEP Northeast District covers Clay County.

Building Division / Permitting · City of Green Cove Springs home page · Northeast District

What the water does here

The river’s daily tide range in Clay County is about 1 foot, and salinity is low. Storms are the issue: the Buckman Bridge gauge set its record of 5.2 feet above normal high water in Irma, the Shands Bridge gauge reached 3.66 feet in Matthew, and Black Creek near Middleburg set a record crest of 27.89 feet in Irma. Doctors Lake, at 3,400 acres, has poor circulation through its narrow river connection.

St. Johns River upriver station datums (8720503, 8720625, 8720774, 8720767, 8720296, 8720333, 8720409, 8720406) · NWPS gauge BUCF1 – St. Johns River at Buckman Bridge · NWPS gauge GCEF1 – St. Johns River at Shands Bridge · NWPS gauge MDLF1 – North Fork Black Creek near Middleburg · Doctors Lake restoration projects

Flood insurance discounts

Unincorporated Clay County is CRS class 6 (20% NFIP discount). Orange Park and Green Cove Springs are not on FEMA’s current list.

CRS Eligible Communities, October 1, 2026 Effective Date