Water rights in North Carolina

North Carolina water rules

• Household well
  Exempt — no permit or water right

  Water Use Act of 1967 (G.S. 143-215.22H). Outside a Capacity Use Area there is no withdrawal permit for wells at all; a single-family well is below every threshold.

  Limit: household wells exempt; permit only >100,000 gpd inside the CCPCUA

  NC DEQ Division of Water Resources — CCPCUA; G.S. 143-215.22H ↗
• Greywater reuse
  permitted

  Reuse encouraged as discharge alternative; approval/permit required.

  Greywater Action / EPA REUSExplorer ↗
• Rainwater harvesting
  unrestricted

  Legal; HB 609 promotes best practices; county incentives.

  NCSL ↗
• Water rights
  regulated riparian

  Statewide registration + permits in Capacity Use Areas; domestic exempt.

  National Agricultural Law Center ↗

15 constrained counties in North Carolina

• Over-appropriatedBeaufort CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)68
• Over-appropriatedCarteret CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)68
• Over-appropriatedCraven CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)63
• Over-appropriatedDuplin CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)61
• Over-appropriatedEdgecombe CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)55
• Over-appropriatedGreene CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)48
• Over-appropriatedJones CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)67
• Over-appropriatedLenoir CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)51
• Over-appropriatedMartin CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)62
• Over-appropriatedOnslow CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)55
• Over-appropriatedPamlico CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)73
• Over-appropriatedPitt CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)52
• Over-appropriatedWashington CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)68
• Over-appropriatedWayne CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)49
• Over-appropriatedWilson CountyCentral Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA)49

Keep exploring North Carolina

See the full North Carolina county ranking, compare states on the water-rights hub, or read how we score water access. We dim physical water — never erased — where a county sits in one of these basins, household-first.

General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.