Burke County, NC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Section 62-122 is the easements section of article V, improvements required and minimum standards of design, in the county's subdivision ordinance, and its second provision sets the design standard for surface drainage courses in new subdivisions across unincorporated Burke County. Surface drainage courses must have side slopes of at least three feet of horizontal distance for each one foot of vertical distance, and must be sized to accommodate runoff from the drainage area without flooding; the minimum grade along the bottom of a drainage course must be a vertical fall of at least one foot in each 100 feet of horizontal distance.

5 feet on each property line for a total easement of 15 feet, which is often where these drainage courses run. The drainage standard works alongside section 62-114, which lets the subdivision administrator require a subdivider to correct improper drainage found unsuitable for the land being platted, and section 62-117's sedimentation control requirements, which separately address erosion and runoff pollution during construction. Because subdivision approval depends on compliance with article V, a drainage course that floods, or that is undersized for its drainage area, is grounds for the subdivision administrator to withhold final plat approval until the design is corrected.