Johnston County, NC Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Johnston County Code § 24-72, part of the water shortage division of Chapter 24, defines 'waste of water' to include, but not be limited to, the failure to repair a controllable leak of water due to defective plumbing, alongside deliberate nonessential water use. That definition matters because § 24-73 separately makes any direct or indirect use of JCDPU water in violation of the water shortage division, or of any water restriction policy the Board of Commissioners adopts, unlawful. 00 for anything larger, doubling on a second violation.

Penalties post directly to the customer's water bill, and each day the leak or violation continues counts as a separate violation under § 24-73(b). The Director of JCDPU administers the rules and must affix a written notice describing the violation to the property and mail it to the customer of record, ordering compliance within a reasonable time. A third violation, or unpaid penalties from earlier ones, lets JCDPU restrict or terminate service after notice, though the customer can request a hearing before a hearing officer designated by the County Manager before the cutoff date, and reconnection carries a fee set in the county's fee schedule.