Under Pennsylvania law, a stream is any channel with defined bed and bank that conveys water – all or even part of the year.  Streams can be natural, man-made, perennial or intermittent.  The floodway of these streams is also regulated. The floodway is defined as 50 feet from the top of bank on any stream unless it has a defined floodway from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

To determine if you're located in a FEMA defined floodway Click Here

Streams come in many shapes and sizes.

Perennial streams have a well-defined channel and bank and contain water year round during a year with normal rainfall. Groundwater is the primary source of water, but they also carry storm water.

Intermittent streams have a well-defined channel that contains water for only part of the year (typically during winter and spring). The flow may be heavily supplemented by storm water.

Sometimes wetlands can look like streams. The picture to the left is an emergent wetland. Emergent wetlands are characterized by their soil and vegetation. This vegetation is present for most of the growing season in most years. These wetlands are usually dominated by perennial plants.