Wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina
83 facilities · 131 MGD combined flow
Klarifi tracks 83 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina with a combined average flow of 131 MGD, serving about 1,904,501 residents. 23 plants treat more than 1 MGD and 2 more than 10 MGD; 29 use lagoon systems and 15 have digesters or biogas infrastructure. The largest is Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility in Raleigh at 47.05 MGD. 12 NPDES permits expire this year and 9 next year.
Every plant below links to a profile with average and design flow, the NPDES permit and its expiry, a three-year compliance snapshot and the capital projects planned in its city. Treatment technology and verified contacts are shown with a free Klarifi account.
83 plant locations in North Carolina; dot size follows average flow. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau.
NPDES permits and renewals in North Carolina
Every plant discharges under an NPDES permit that is renewed every five years, usually with tighter limits. The renewal year is the year a plant budgets for upgrades.
Largest wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina
| Facility | City | Avg flow (MGD) | Design (MGD) | NPDES permit | Expires | Violations (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility | Raleigh | 47.05 | 75 | NC0029033 | Feb 2025 | 1 |
| Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant | Charlotte | 10.55 | 15 | NC0024945 | Oct 2028 | 0 |
| North Durham WRF | Durham | 8.9 | 20 | NC0023841 | Jan 2029 | 4 |
| Goldsboro WRF | Goldsboro | 6.55 | 14.2 | NC0023949 | Jan 2029 | 4 |
| Town Of Cary - North Cary WWTP | Cary | 6.11 | 12 | NC0048879 | Feb 2028 | 0 |
| Town Of Cary - South Cary WWTP | Apex | 5.96 | 12.8 | NC0065102 | Apr 2028 | 0 |
| New Bern Waste Water Treatment Plant | New Bern | 5.17 | 7 | NC0025348 | Jun 2027 | 0 |
| Mason Farm WWTP | Chapel Hill | 4.86 | 14.5 | NC0025241 | Jul 2030 | 0 |
| Triangle WWTP | Durham | 4.53 | 12 | NC0026051 | Apr 2027 | 3 |
| Johnnie Mosley Regional WRF | Kinston | 3.42 | 11.85 | NC0024236 | Jan 2029 | 32 |
Treatment technology for each plant is shown with a free Klarifi account. Create one →
North Carolina plants by treatment technology
All 83 plants in North Carolina
Wastewater treatment in North Carolina: questions
Sources and methodology
Flow, permit and violation figures come from the EPA's ICIS-NPDES discharge monitoring records. Population served comes from the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2022. Treatment structures are identified by Klarifi's review of aerial imagery, and capital improvement projects are extracted from published municipal budget documents. Violations are counted over the last three years of monitoring reports.
Data refreshed October 26, 2026.
Wastewater terms: WWTP · POTW · MGD · NPDES permit · Ozonation · Activated sludge · all terms
Cite this page
Journalists, researchers and educators are welcome to quote these figures. Please credit Klarifi as the source and link to this page.
Klarifi. “Wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina.” Updated October 26, 2026. https://klarifi.io/facilities/north-carolinaNeed a custom cut of the data for a state, a county or a list of plants? Email info@klarifi.io.