The 41 largest wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina
Ranked by average flow · 118 MGD combined · 100% of the state's reported flow
Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility in Raleigh is the largest publicly owned wastewater treatment plant in North Carolina by reported average flow, treating about 47.06 million gallons per day. The 41 plants below treat 118 MGD between them, 100% of the flow reported by all 85 plants in the state, and serve about 1,310,320 people. Every plant links to its profile with permit, technology and compliance data.
| # | Facility | City | Avg flow (MGD) | Population | NPDES permit | Expires | Technology | Violations (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility | Raleigh | 47.06 | 570,019 | NC0029033 | Feb 2025 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Biogas silos, Biogas balloons | 1 |
| 2 | Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant | Charlotte | 10.99 | 105,450 | NC0024945 | Oct 2028 | Clarifiers, Biogas silos | 0 |
| 3 | Town Of Cary - North Cary WWTP | Cary | 5.91 | 90,508 | NC0048879 | Feb 2028 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| 4 | Goldsboro WRF | Goldsboro | 5.69 | 38,888 | NC0023949 | Jan 2029 | Uncovered lagoons | 3 |
| 5 | Town Of Cary - South Cary WWTP | Apex | 5.1 | 70,417 | NC0065102 | Apr 2028 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons | 0 |
| 6 | New Bern Waste Water Treatment Plant | New Bern | 4.91 | 29,879 | NC0025348 | Jun 2027 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| 7 | Mason Farm WWTP | Chapel Hill | 4.48 | 84,699 | NC0025241 | Jul 2030 | Clarifiers, Biogas silos, Biogas balloons | 0 |
| 8 | Triangle WWTP | Durham | 4.35 | 15,321 | NC0026051 | Apr 2027 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 3 |
| 9 | Johnnie Mosley Regional WRF | Kinston | 3.46 | 21,184 | NC0024236 | Jan 2029 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons | 32 |
| 10 | City Of High Point | Thomasville | 3.05 | 33,578 | NC0024228 | Feb 2026 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Biogas balloons | 0 |
| 11 | City Of Lexington | Lexington | 2.11 | 30,981 | NC0055786 | Apr 2030 | — | 3 |
| 12 | Siler City WWTP | Siler City | 2.1 | 8,389 | NC0026441 | May 2027 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 21 |
| 13 | Graham WWTP City Of | Graham | 1.9 | 19,862 | NC0021211 | May 2026 | Clarifiers | 10 |
| 14 | Central Johnston County WWTP | Smithfield | 1.5 | 54,426 | NC0030716 | Mar 2026 | Clarifiers, Biogas silos | 2 |
| 15 | Contentnea Metropolitan Sewerage District | Grifton | 1.44 | 18,158 | NC0032077 | Nov 2025 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| 16 | Terrible Creek WWTP | Fuquay Varina | 1.44 | 7,500 | NC0066516 | Apr 2026 | — | 0 |
| 17 | Sgwasa WWTP | Butner | 1.36 | 13,588 | NC0026824 | Oct 2030 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| 18 | Tarboro WWTP | Tarboro | 1.35 | 12,674 | NC0020605 | Sep 2029 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons | 0 |
| 19 | Cherokee WWTP | Cherokee | 1.25 | — | NC0052469 | Apr 2030 | Clarifiers | 10 |
| 20 | Yadkin River Water Treatment Plant | Unionville | 1.25 | — | NC0089893 | Jun 2025 | Uncovered lagoons | 0 |
| 21 | Sam'S Branch WRF | Clayton | 1.23 | 24,094 | NC0025453 | Mar 2030 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 4 |
| 22 | Oxford WWTP | Oxford | 0.99 | 8,878 | NC0025054 | Sep 2030 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches, Biogas silos | 2 |
| 23 | Little Creek Resource Recovery Facility | Zebulon | 0.92 | 7,028 | NC0079316 | May 2030 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 2 |
| 24 | Hillsborough WWTP Town Of | Hillsborough | 0.89 | 7,294 | NC0026433 | Jan 2030 | Clarifiers | 1 |
| 25 | Hoke County WWTP | Raeford | 0.55 | — | NC0089176 | Oct 2024 | Uncovered lagoons | 16 |
| 26 | West Stanly WWTP | Oakboro | 0.54 | 9,788 | NC0043532 | Jan 2029 | Clarifiers | 46 |
| 27 | Eagle Road WWTP | Cramerton | 0.53 | 4,485 | NC0006033 | Jan 2027 | Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons | 0 |
| 28 | Newport WWTP | Newport | 0.36 | 4,647 | NC0021555 | Jul 2030 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| 29 | Kenly Waste Water Treatment Plant | Kenly | 0.25 | 3,194 | NC0064891 | Apr 2023 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 0 |
| 30 | Town Of Snow Hill | Snow Hill | 0.24 | 2,816 | NC0020842 | May 2028 | Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 3 |
| 31 | Pinetops WWTP | Pinetops | 0.15 | 1,390 | NC0020435 | Sep 2029 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 26 |
| 32 | Maury Sanitary Land District WWTP | Maury | 0.14 | 2,184 | NC0061492 | May 2028 | Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 25 |
| 33 | Vanceboro WWTP | Vanceboro | 0.13 | 981 | NC0031828 | Apr 2028 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 55 |
| 34 | Robersonville WWTP | Robersonville | 0.12 | 1,967 | NC0026042 | Nov 2028 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 71 |
| 35 | Brighton Forest WWTP | Fuquay Varina | 0.07 | — | NC0066150 | Apr 2028 | — | 0 |
| 36 | Pittsboro WWTP | Pittsboro | 0.06 | 4,340 | NC0020354 | Apr 2026 | — | 54 |
| 37 | Town Of Stantonsburg | Stantonsburg | 0.06 | 902 | NC0057606 | May 2028 | Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches | 3 |
| 38 | Trenton WWTP | Trenton | 0.03 | 255 | NC0021342 | May 2029 | — | 68 |
| 39 | Town Of Bridgeton | Bridgeton | 0.03 | 556 | NC0074837 | Jun 2028 | — | 4 |
| 40 | Jacob Cornsilk Complex | Robbinsville | 0.00024 | — | NC0089907 | Dec 2030 | — | 0 |
| 41 | Hookerton WWTP | Hookerton | 0.00017 | — | NC0025712 | May 2028 | Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons | 3 |
Largest plants 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.