North Carolina awards $215M for water and wastewater infrastructure, resilience projects

North Carolina officials have approved more than $215 million in funding for 66 drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across 26 counties, with the majority supporting recovery and resilience efforts following Hurricane Helene.

The funding, approved by the State Water Infrastructure Authority and administered through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, includes approximately $196 million for storm-impacted communities. Wastewater-related projects funded through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund include treatment plant relocations, system repairs and resiliency upgrades.

“People need to have access to clean, reliable water,” said Governor Josh Stein in a press release. “These investments will help rebuild infrastructure more resilient so families can count on safe water, especially when disaster strikes.”

Notable wastewater projects include funding for a wastewater treatment plant relocation in the Town of Marshall, a new wastewater treatment plant and regionalization project in the Town of Canton, and treatment plant and collection system repairs in the Town of Spruce Pine.

State officials said the latest round of funding brings total federal and state investment for Helene-related water infrastructure recovery to $861 million.

“The projects awarded will address some of our state’s most pressing current needs: repairing vital water systems that were damaged by Helene to make them less vulnerable to future storms, conducting studies of dangerous forever chemicals such as PFAS, and replacing lead pipes that can cause numerous health issues,” said NC Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson in a press release.

Officials added that significant needs remain, with approximately $655 million in additional water infrastructure requests still unfunded.