Johnston County, NC Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Johnston County Code § 24-72 sorts water use into three classes for the county's water shortage response. Class 3, 'nonessential uses of water,' includes outdoor noncommercial watering, private impervious surface washing, and irrigation of gardens, lawns, golf courses, parks, playing fields and other recreational areas, along with ornamental fountains and reflecting pools. The code carves out exceptions even within Class 3: agricultural irrigation for food, feed, fiber or fuel and livestock maintenance; commercial nurseries watering at the minimum level needed to keep stock alive when no other water source is feasible; golf courses watering only enough to maintain greens and tees; and revegetation required by an erosion and sedimentation control plan.

Whether the Class 3 restriction is voluntary or mandatory depends on which shortage stage JCDPU and the Board of Commissioners have declared. Under § 24-74, a water shortage advisory only calls for voluntary conservation. Under § 24-75, once the Board declares a water shortage alert, it must impose a ban on all Class 3 water uses, including outdoor irrigation, for the duration of the shortage, and the Board can expand the ban to other classes if needed. A declared water shortage emergency under § 24-76 goes further, banning both Class 2 and Class 3 uses outright.

The County Manager may still grant an individual administrative variance under § 24-73(f) where compliance would cause hardship and reasonable conservation alternatives have been exhausted. 00 for a first offense, billed to the customer's JCDPU account.