$1.1M in grants for flood resilience projects awarded
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint is partnering with the North Carolina Land and Water Fund to provide $1.1 million for three flood risk reduction projects located in Dunn, Clyde and Smithfield.
In total, the projects will restore more than 1.29 miles of stream and 50 acres of floodplain as well as retrofit a pond to reduce flooding.
The Flood Resiliency Blueprint’s grant funding supports the North Carolina Land and Water Fund’s 2025 grant cycle. As directed by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Blueprint continues to allocate $76 million in funding to support flood mitigation efforts in the Cape Fear, French Broad, Lumber, Neuse, Tar Pamlico and White Oak river basins.
The funding supports one project in the Smoky Mountain News coverage area in Clyde and totals $210,500.
Haywood Waterways will restore nearly 0.48 mile of stream and 5.3 acres along the Pigeon River within the Town of Clyde to reconnect the river to its floodplain, increase flood storage and reduce erosion.
The project will stabilize eroding banks, enhance river-bank habitat and complement nearby Land and Water Fund–supported efforts such as Rivers Edge Park to create an interconnected, 10-acre flood storage system that provides long-term resiliency, improved water quality and new open space and recreational access for the community.
