Alamance County, NC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- WCA built-upon cap
- 6% of lot area
- BOW built-upon cap
- 12% of lot area
- WCA minimum lot
- 2 acres per dwelling
- Lake buffer
- 100 feet from normal pool elevation
- SNIA maximum
- 70% built-upon with Board approval
- Enforcing office
- Watershed Administrator, Administrative Services Dept
Summary
Alamance County limits impervious built-upon area to control stormwater runoff into the Back Creek, Stoney Creek, Big Alamance Creek, Cane Creek, Rocky River and Haw River water supply watersheds. UDO § 6.10 caps built-upon area at six percent of lot size in Watershed Critical Areas and twelve percent in the Balance of Watershed, with density held to one dwelling per two acres in critical areas and one dwelling per acre elsewhere.
In order to maintain a predominantly undeveloped land use intensity pattern in the WCA, single-family residential, multi-family residential and non-residential development shall be allowed at a maximum of one dwelling unit or use per two acres (1 d.u. or use/2 ac.). Built-upon area for multi-family residential and non-residential development shall not exceed six percent (6%) of lot area except for expansion of existing development.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
The Watershed Protection Standards divide the county's public water supply watersheds into two zones: the Watershed Critical Area (WCA), covering land within one mile of a reservoir's normal pool elevation or upstream of an intake, and the Balance of Watershed (BOW), the remaining contributing drainage area. In the WCA, single-family lots cannot be smaller than two acres, and multi-family or non-residential development cannot exceed six percent built-upon area per project, calculated against total tract acreage. In the BOW, single-family lots must be at least one acre, multi-family and non-residential uses need forty-thousand square feet per unit, and built-upon area is capped at twelve percent.
Institutional non-residential uses in the BOW, such as churches, schools, fire stations and government buildings, can exceed the twelve percent cap through a Special Non-Residential Intensity Allocation (SNIA) approved by the Board of Commissioners on recommendation of the Planning Board, up to seventy percent built-upon area on an individual project, capped county-wide at ten percent of each watershed's balance acreage. A one-hundred-foot natural buffer must be maintained around every water supply reservoir measured from the normal pool elevation, with new development barred inside it except water-dependent structures and public road or greenway crossings. 6, though they remain subject to other federal, state and local rules. § 160D-926 and Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
Violations & Fines
Building, altering, or changing the use of property without securing a Watershed Protection Permit from the Watershed Administrator violates § 6.10.8, and no state building permit can be issued until that permit is granted. Occupying a structure before the county issues a Watershed Protection Occupancy Permit is likewise a violation; if occupancy is denied, the Administrator must notify the applicant in writing of the reasons. Exceeding the six or twelve percent built-upon area cap for a project violates the density standard in § 6.10.2 and § 6.10.3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Alamance County limit how much of my lot can be paved or built on?
Which parts of the county are covered by the watershed rules?
Can a project exceed the built-upon area cap?
Are farms subject to the watershed density limits?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alamance County
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