Wastewater Treatment Plants in North Carolina
85 facilities · 118 MGD combined flow
Klarifi tracks 85 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina with a combined average flow of 118 MGD, serving about 1,869,590 residents. 21 plants treat more than 1 MGD and 2 more than 10 MGD; 43 use lagoon systems and 14 have digesters or biogas infrastructure. The largest is Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility in Raleigh at 47.06 MGD. 13 NPDES permits expire this year and 9 next year.
Every plant below links to a profile with average and design flow, treatment technology, the NPDES permit and its expiry, a three-year compliance snapshot and the capital projects planned in its city.
85 plant locations in North Carolina; dot size follows average flow.
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 | Technology | Violations (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility | Raleigh | 47.06 | 75 | NC0029033 | Feb 2025 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Biogas silos, Biogas balloons | 1 |
| Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant | Charlotte | 10.99 | 15 | NC0024945 | Oct 2028 | Clarifiers, Biogas silos | 0 |
| Town Of Cary - North Cary WWTP | Cary | 5.91 | 12 | NC0048879 | Feb 2028 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| Goldsboro WRF | Goldsboro | 5.69 | 14.2 | NC0023949 | Jan 2029 | Uncovered lagoons | 3 |
| Town Of Cary - South Cary WWTP | Apex | 5.1 | 12.8 | NC0065102 | Apr 2028 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons | 0 |
| New Bern Waste Water Treatment Plant | New Bern | 4.91 | 7 | NC0025348 | Jun 2027 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| Mason Farm WWTP | Chapel Hill | 4.48 | 14.5 | NC0025241 | Jul 2030 | Clarifiers, Biogas silos, Biogas balloons | 0 |
| Triangle WWTP | Durham | 4.35 | 12 | NC0026051 | Apr 2027 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 3 |
| Johnnie Mosley Regional WRF | Kinston | 3.46 | 11.85 | NC0024236 | Jan 2029 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons | 32 |
| City Of High Point | Thomasville | 3.05 | 10 | NC0024228 | Feb 2026 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Biogas balloons | 0 |
| City Of Lexington | Lexington | 2.11 | 6.5 | NC0055786 | Apr 2030 | — | 3 |
| Siler City WWTP | Siler City | 2.1 | 4 | NC0026441 | May 2027 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 21 |
| Graham WWTP City Of | Graham | 1.9 | 3.5 | NC0021211 | May 2026 | Clarifiers | 10 |
| Central Johnston County WWTP | Smithfield | 1.5 | 9.5 | NC0030716 | Mar 2026 | Clarifiers, Biogas silos | 2 |
| Contentnea Metropolitan Sewerage District | Grifton | 1.44 | 3.5 | NC0032077 | Nov 2025 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| Terrible Creek WWTP | Fuquay Varina | 1.44 | 3 | NC0066516 | Apr 2026 | — | 0 |
| Sgwasa WWTP | Butner | 1.36 | 5.5 | NC0026824 | Oct 2030 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| Tarboro WWTP | Tarboro | 1.35 | 5 | NC0020605 | Sep 2029 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons | 0 |
| Cherokee WWTP | Cherokee | 1.25 | 6 | NC0052469 | Apr 2030 | Clarifiers | 10 |
| Yadkin River Water Treatment Plant | Unionville | 1.25 | 0.49 | NC0089893 | Jun 2025 | Uncovered lagoons | 0 |
| Sam'S Branch WRF | Clayton | 1.23 | 2.5 | NC0025453 | Mar 2030 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 4 |
| Oxford WWTP | Oxford | 0.99 | 3.5 | NC0025054 | Sep 2030 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches, Biogas silos | 2 |
| Little Creek Resource Recovery Facility | Zebulon | 0.92 | 2.2 | NC0079316 | May 2030 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 2 |
| Hillsborough WWTP Town Of | Hillsborough | 0.89 | 3 | NC0026433 | Jan 2030 | Clarifiers | 1 |
| Hoke County WWTP | Raeford | 0.55 | 1.5 | NC0089176 | Oct 2024 | Uncovered lagoons | 16 |
North Carolina plants by treatment technology
All 85 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 September 11, 2026.