Glossary
Critical Water Quality Zone (CWQZ)
A protected corridor along a waterway, measured outward from the centerline, in which development is heavily restricted.
A Critical Water Quality Zone is a buffer along a creek or waterway where development is sharply limited to protect water quality. Related designations include water quality transition zones and erosion hazard zone setbacks. These are measured from the waterway centerline and they remove developable area from a site — which is why gross acreage is a poor guide to what you are actually buying. Widths and rules vary by jurisdiction and by the classification of the waterway; confirm the applicable standard locally.