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“My mom’s property started flooding with the rain, and she is on a septic, and it’s been drained three weeks ago,� Pierce said. “But the flooding is causing her septic lines to back up to the point where we cannot flush the toilet, and it’s coming through the sinks now.�

The discussion prompted the county to consider options for the future of northern Caroline County’s water and wastewater infrastructure.

Commission President Travis Breeding said Tuesday that the county has set up a meeting to walk through the neighborhood and look at the drainage on that road.

Breeding also reported he had met with North County Water Authority, the entity behind an agreement for the northern towns in the county established more than a decade ago.

The agreement, which aimed to end the use of failing septic systems in the county’s four northernmost municipalities — Goldsboro, Henderson, Marydel and Templeville — established a new sewer system.

Eventually, Greensboro built a new sewage treatment plant because the existing plant was flooding. Greensboro’s plant began to serve Goldsboro residents after the upgrade.

Rates for Greensboro’s waste water treatment have been rising rapidly, commissioners said, and residents of Goldsboro have had issues with the rates.

“Essentially under the the current agreement, those municipalities really don’t have any say in the operation of the plant,� Breeding said. “The rates that they pay or any real input into the maintenance operation and they’re kind of just silent re-payers.�

Tuesday, the county weighed whether to continue to have Greensboro’s plant serve residents of other towns or whether to set up a county-run wastewater treatment plant at the north end of the county.

“We discussed each individual town having their own system or plant, which we believe is probably cost prohibitive, and we put them in a situation where they would all be competing with operators or competing to find an operator to operate the plant for them,� Breeding said. “We also discussed option where there was one plant to service all three towns, Henderson, Marydell and Templeville. And what that would look like would either be the establishment of an authority or the county potentially stepping in and managing the plant for them.�

While all options are on the table, Breeding presented this to the commissioners not expecting a definitive response.

“My question is just throwing this all out there for you guys to think about. I guess we don’t need an answer right now, but is it time that Caroline County got into the water and sewer business or start to investigate that?� Breeding asked.

The commissioners concluded that if they were to consider an agreement with the towns to run their own water and sewage facility, the commissioners would need to go through multiple hurdles to do so.

“I’m certainly willing to talk about it,� Commissioners Vice President Larry Porter said. “My concern is if we want to talk about an exponential jump in costs and start operating a wastewater treatment plant, that’s a whole different ballgame.�

“The only way I would entertain it is if the people connected covered the cost to operate it,� Breeding said. “If it’s not a cost-effective, if there’s not enough grant money that can be obtained, then it’s tough to go. But I wouldn’t want to subsidize it with any money from the rest of the county.�

The commissioners plan to reach out to the Greensboro Town Council and see if the town is willing to push its wastewater treatment out of town limits. If the town is not willing, Henderson, Marydel and Templeville will need some sort of plant to service those residents.