Summary
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners approved a bulk water and wastewater agreement with the Town of Clayton on Nov. 3 that allows retail service to parcels near Cornwallis Road, subject to town annexation and infrastructure conditions.
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 3 approved a bulk water and wastewater agreement with the Town of Clayton that will enable retail service to several parcels near the intersection of Cornwallis Road and Veterans Parkway.
"This agreement would allow the town of Clayton to provide retail water and sewer service to those parcels," Chandra Farmer, the county’s public utilities director, said. She described the parcels as the Kenny property and the Troxler Yergen property and said the town would also serve additional contiguous parcels if annexed.
Under the agreement, the town would transfer part of its existing wastewater treatment and transmission capacity into the local basin and construct a 500,000‑gallon flow equalization facility located at the county’s Swift Creek wastewater pump station to receive and transmit the retail flow to county treatment facilities. The town would also install master metering for water and sewer and pay the county monthly for bulk services.
County staff said the arrangement does not create new treatment allocations; instead, some capacity would be moved from the town’s existing US‑70 transmission base in the East Clayton Industrial Area to the Cornwallis Road basin. The town will pay a fee to buy transmission capacity in the new basin to offset the difference in transmission cost.
Why it matters: The agreement enables development projects that are contingent on municipal retail service and annexation while using county treatment and transmission infrastructure. It also binds the town to construct the equalization facility and meter the flows that will come into the county system.
Vote: The board voted by voice to approve the agreement during the Nov. 3 meeting.
Sources: Nov. 3, 2025 Johnston County Board of Commissioners meeting record and presentation by Public Utilities Director Chandra Farmer.
