A new batch of state money is on its way to Western North Carolina to help reduce flood risk in at least three communities.
Gov. Josh Stein announced the projects Thursday while standing on the bank of the French Broad River in Marshall, near one of the planned flood prevention projects.
The funding is part of Flood Resiliency Blueprint. The state program has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years to build more resilient infrastructure surrounding rivers across North Carolina.
After Hurricane Helene swept through the western part of the state, three projects were granted a total of $990,000 to help rebuild and strengthen river banks and add floodplain storage capacity. Stein also announced eight more projects throughout the rest of the state.
“ We know that there will be floods in the future, so we're making smart investments now. To strengthen our river banks and to promote resilience to reduce future flooding impacts,” Stein said Thursday.
The state’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint is funded through a $76 million allocation to the Department of Environmental Quality Division of Mitigation Services, approved in 2021 by the North Carolina General Assembly. The state has spent about half of its available funding, DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said.
The three projects in the western part of the state are along the French Broad River basin and include Haywood, Madison and Yancey counties. The three rural areas endured severe flooding during Hurricane Helene.
Along with restoring riverbanks, the project will add a total of 25 acre-feet of floodplain water storage – about the size of 26 football fields. This floodplain storage adds capacity for rivers to hold excess water from rainfall, which helps reduce downstream flooding and improves water quality.
WNC projects announced Thursday are:
- Stream restoration in Haywood County: DEQ grants Southwestern Commission $100,000 to restore approximately half a mile of stream channel, plant 2.6 acres of streambank vegetation, and create 6 acre-feet of floodplain water storage along the Pigeon River.
- Stream bank reconstruction in Madison County: DEQ grants the Land of Sky Regional Council $789,000 to restore about 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.
- Floodplain storage in Yancey County: DEQ grants the Soil and Water Conservation District $100,000 to restore approximately 1,000 linear feet of stream channel and add 8 acre-feet of floodplain water storage.
Without state grant money, the project would have been “very difficult for the town to have been able to do,” said Marshall Mayor Aaron Haynie. Marshall is the county seat of Madison County.
“We are thankful for these grants. The cost of everything is just so expensive nowadays, and how our budget is, it just wouldn't have been able to withstand anything of that magnitude.”
The state expects the design and procurement phase of the Madison County project to be completed by the end of 2025, and the project to be completed no later than October 2028. According to DEQ, grant recipients will have three years to complete projects.
