Prior to the construction of the Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant, wastewater in the Oak Orchard service area was treated at the Davis Road Treatment Plant. The Davis Road Treatment Plant discharged low-quality water and caused nuisance conditions in the area, eventually becoming a public hazard. 

In response to the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972, which established regulations for discharging pollutants into US waters, plans to construct a new wastewater treatment plant in the town of Clay began in the mid-1970s. By the spring of 1981, the Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment plant was in operation and the Davis Road Treatment Plant was repurposed as a pump station. 

The Oak Orchard plant, supported by a network of gravity sewers and pumping stations, provides service to a large section of the town of Clay, as well as portions of the town of Cicero and the village of North Syracuse. The majority of customers served are residential and commercial, but there are a few industrial users in the area, such as Clintons Ditch Corp.