RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – Two southeastern North Carolina cities will be helped by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint to implement flood reduction and floodplain protection projects.

The DEQ is working with the North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) to allocate over $9 million to 15 NCLWF projects. This funding will provide an estimated 465 acre-feet of flood water retention, or 152 million gallons, during flood events.

In a press release, the DEQ stated they will be administering $96 million in funding for projects to address flooding in the following river basins: Cape Fear, French Broad, Lumber, Neuse, Tar-Pamlico and White Oak.

“These grants will help us continue to address the adverse effects of climate change and severe weather events,” said Reid Wilson, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The following flood reduction and floodplain protection projects are supported by this funding:

• The City of Whiteville will begin construction of the Whiteville Stormwater Park, managing stormwater while providing public event space on the site of a former shopping center.
• The City of Wilmington will restore urban portions of Hewlett Creek, reducing the frequency and severity of stormwater flooding in a large neighborhood.

Other projects being funded:

• North Carolina State University will construct and monitor two “water farming” projects on agricultural and silviculture lands, allowing farm managers to detain more than 77 acre-feet of flood water while continuing to maximize crop and timber yields.
• The City of Durham will add flood control storage to a large stormwater management project on South Ellerbe Creek, enabling the stream and wetland complex to protect downstream neighborhoods by storing stormwater runoff from downtown.
• The City of Lumberton will acquire four floodplain parcels within its urban greenway corridor (the “Lumberton Loop”), remove structures and impervious surfaces, and reconnect the floodplain to adjacent wetlands, allowing for 32 acre-feet of stormwater to be detained, limiting flooding in nearby neighborhoods.
• Haywood Waterways Association will repair a portion of the Upper Pigeon River, restoring wetland function and storing 300 acre-feet of flood water upstream of downtown Canton.
• The City of Kinston will begin construction of Phase I of the Adkin Branch Flood Mitigation project, protecting health service facilities and a vulnerable neighborhood from flood waters.
• The Town of Maysville will add a stormwater bioretention cell to manage 4 acre-feet of stormwater and address downtown flooding issues.
• The Town of Aurora will make nature-based improvements to a tributary of Bailey Creek, adding 4 acre-feet of flood water storage and limiting tidal flooding.
• The North Carolina Coastal Federation will repair a previously drained wetland along the Newport River, protecting 1,437 acres and managing 750 acre-feet of flood storage.
• The City of Hendersonville will restore portions of Mud Creek and its floodplains, protecting downstream areas from flooding and expanding city park areas.
• The Conservation Fund will protect 1,000 acres of floodplains and wetlands along Ashpole Swamp and transfer a total of 1,113 acres to the Lumber River State Park.
• Triangle Land Conservancy will permanently protect 400 acres of floodplain and wetlands on the 602-acre Lowgrounds property in Johnston County.
• NC Wildlife Resources Commission will permanently protect more than 2,500 acres of floodplains and wetlands in Robeson County to be managed as Game Lands.

Ann Browning, chair of the NCLWF Flood Risk Reduction Committee, says she is happy to be partnering with DEQ to expand the impact of the NCLW Flood Risk Reduction Grant Program.

“With these additional funds, we are able to meet previously unmet needs on these projects and get funds on the ground quickly and efficiently,” said Browning.

According to Mary Penny Kelley, DEQ Secretary, the partnership will allow the Flood Resiliency Blueprint to quickly fund effective projects through an existing grant program.

“This is part of the first round of many projects that DEQ will fund through the state’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint,” said Kelley.

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