The Stoney Creek watershed covers 29.8 square miles (77 km2) in central Wayne County.

[3] The upper part of the Stoney Creek watershed, north of New Hope Road, was mostly agricultural land or undeveloped as of 2004.

Downstream, about 40% of the watershed is within the Goldsboro city limits and is used for housing, commerce, light industry and military purposes (Seymour Johnson Air Force Base).

[4] Historically, development has spread from the lower areas to the upstream, and in the 2000s there has been growth in commercial and residential land use in the upper basin.

The upper watershed contains slowly moving blackwater streams, low lying wooded swamps and marsh floodplains.