Stream Determinations

Stream determinations provide information used to determine whether the Durham County Unified Development Ordinance Riparian Buffer Protection Standards (Section 8.5) apply to a property. Stream determinations are required by Durham County to preserve water quality buffers in the Cape Fear River Basin on new development and significant redevelopment sites. Durham County waters include streams, rivers, springs, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. The determination between a perennial and intermittent stream is based on a combination of hydrological, physical and biological characteristics of the stream.

In order to properly apply the appropriate stream buffers, the County of Durham will review waterbodies depicted on the USGS topographic map or the county soil survey that an applicant does not believe are intermittent or perennial streams, or ponds or lakes that are manmade and are located outside of natural drainageways. For these types of evaluations, only personnel that have completed the N.C. Division of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) Surface Water Identification Training and Certification  Course  (or  an  approved  equivalent)  and  who  have  passed  both  the  written  and  field exams for the course can perform a stream and surface water determination.

Durham County Stormwater staff will conduct a field visit to classify streams on the property(ies) within two weeks of a request, depending on weather conditions, staff availability, and scope of the request. Please note that stream determinations cannot be conducted within 48 hours of a rain event.

If information gathered by personnel determines that the drainage feature or depicted surface water is not subject to the buffer protection standards,  and  is  subsequently  approved  by  the  NCDWR,  then  the  proposed development  may  encroach  within  the  first  50  feet  adjacent  to  the  waterbody  depicted on  the  soil survey and/or the USGS topographic map.

Please contact McKenzie Bradshaw at mfbradshaw@dconc.gov for more information about submitting a Stream Determination Request. To request a stream determination on your property, please complete a Stream Determination Request Form.