Today in Marshall, Governor Josh Stein announced $6 million in grants from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint program to help reduce flood risks across the state. The announcement includes projects to restore the French Broad River Basin after western North Carolina experienced catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Helene last fall. Funding in this announcement will go toward 11 projects in the river basins of the Cape Fear, French Broad, Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, and Lumber rivers.
“Last year’s flooding of the French Broad River after Helene is a somber reminder of how damaging flooding can be to an area,” said Governor Josh Stein. “We must stay prepared for future severe weather events, and this funding will help communities become more resilient and less vulnerable to flooding.”
“Recent storm events, including Hurricane Helene, have highlighted the need for continued flood resilience initiatives across North Carolina,” said Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson. “These targeted investments will strengthen resilience and help local governments reduce the costs, extent, damage, and disruption from flooding events.”
The grant funding is provided by DEQ’s North Carolina Flood Resiliency Blueprint, with projects chosen by the department’s Division of Water Resources. As directed by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Blueprint continues to allocate $76 million in funding to support flood mitigation projects such as water retention, floodplain restoration, or nature-based flood mitigation efforts in the Cape Fear, French Broad, Lumber, Neuse, Tar Pamlico and White Oak river basins.
The following flood risk reduction and floodplain protection projects are supported through the partnership:
Cape Fear River Basin
- The Town of Apex will restore approximately four-tenths of a mile of stream channel, plant streambank vegetation, and add 5 acre-feet of floodplain water storage along Beaver Creek adjacent to the Apex Nature Park. This project is being awarded $1.4 million.
French Broad River Basin
- Yancey County Soil and Water Conservation District will restore approximately 1,000 linear feet of stream channel and add 8 acre-feet of floodplain water storage in a Hurricane Helene-impacted residential area through an effort known as the “Cattail Creek Flood Resiliency” project. This project is being awarded $100,000.
- The Land of Sky Regional Council will restore approximately eight-tenths of a mile of stream channel, plant 2.75 acres of streambank vegetation, and add 11 acre-feet of floodplain water storage along the French Broad River in a Hurricane Helene-impacted residential area of Madison County through the “Rollins and Fortner Hollow Riverbank Restoration.” This project is being awarded $789,000.
- The Southwestern Commission will restore approximately half a mile of linear feet of stream channel, plant 2.6 acres of streambank vegetation, and create 6 acre-feet of floodplain water storage along the Pigeon River in a Hurricane Helene-impacted urban residential area of Haywood County through the “Town of Clyde Flood Resiliency” project. This project is being awarded $110,000.
Lumber River Basin
- The City of Lumberton will install two culverts, restore approximately 100 linear feet upstream of the proposed culverts, and construct a vegetated bioswale to store and treat stormwater runoff from a drainage area along a frequently flooded portion of Linkhaw Road in Robeson County through the “Linkhaw Road Flood Mitigation” project. This project is being awarded $748,000.
Neuse River Basin
- The City of Wilson will excavate two existing stormwater ponds and install a real-time control system to increase water storage capacity by 10 acre-feet and proactively manage pond water levels in a historically flooded residential area of Wilson County through the “Jetstream Park Ponds Flood Resiliency” project. This project is being awarded $395,000.
- The Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District will restore approximately 200 linear feet of degraded stream and add 325 cubic feet of floodplain water storage in an urban residential corridor in Wake County through the “(unnamed tributary) to Walnut Creek Stream and Floodplain Restoration” project. This project is being awarded $70,000.
- Durham County will restore approximately one-third of a mile of channel plant 1.6 acres of streambank vegetation and install a bioretention area and four bioswales to create 1 acre-feet of water storage volume along Little Lick Creek within the Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park. This project is being awarded $600,000.
- The City of Wilson will construct a 1.4-acre stormwater wetland to receive stormwater from three outfalls that drain stormwater runoff from a 29.5-acre highly impervious watershed containing the City’s Operations Center. This project is being awarded $324,000.
Tar-Pamlico River Basin
- Dare County will install two bioswales and associated culverts within the NCDOT right-of-way to create flood storage and to treat approximately 1.8 acres of stormwater drainage along a frequently flooded portion of N.C. 12 through the “Hatteras Village Stormwater” project. This project is being awarded $65,000.
- The Town of Nashville will restore approximately 48 acres of floodway property, construct two nature-based stormwater control measures, and plant 38 acres of streambank vegetation to add approximately 31 acre-feet of water storage along the floodplain of Stony Creek in Nash County. This project is being awarded $1.25 million.
About the North Carolina Flood Resiliency Blueprint
In 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly directed the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to develop a statewide Flood Resiliency Blueprint. The Blueprint serves as the backbone of NC’s flood resiliency planning and is based on the best available science, stakeholder engagement, and sound decision-making to result in actionable projects. At the heart of the Blueprint is an online decision support tool to help local governments, agencies, and non-governmental partners develop, evaluate, and prioritize resilience actions as well as plan and marshal funding to implement those priorities. The Blueprint will make North Carolina more resilient to flooding by funding projects that limit flood extent and severity, allowing communities to recover more quickly and limit future risk as storms become more frequent and severe. DEQ has funded 72 Blueprint projects statewide totaling more than $35 million, including the projects that are being announced this week.