New Hanover County has been awarded more than $4 million to remove debris and sedimentation from streams and waterways in the unincorporated areas of the county, the county announced Tuesday.
The Emergency Watershed Protection Program has awarded the $4,396,496 in federal assistance to New Hanover to improve watersheds impacted by Hurricane Florence debris, increasing water flow and reducing flooding threats to properties, according to the county, which applied in October 2018 for the federal funding and received the award letter this month.
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Of the total funding, 75% is through the Natural Resource Conservation Service, a branch of the United States Department of Agriculture and 25% is through the Division of Soil & Water, a branch of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
The county plans to sign the agreement with Natural Resource Conservation Service by the end of the month and all work is to be completed within 280 days of the finalized agreement. Funding will be reimbursed after the work has been completed and inspected.
“Hurricane Florence caused a significant amount of trees and debris to fall into the county’s streams and creeks, preventing the water from flowing adequately and creating potentially hazardous flooding conditions when we have large rainfall events,” said Soil and Water Conservation District Director Dru Harrison in a statement. “Immediately after Hurricane Florence, county staff began working on this effort and applied for funding. It is a significant amount of work, and we couldn’t start until we received our award letter and then signed an agreement with NRCS. We are in that process now, and will be working hard over the next nine months to have all of these watersheds clear of hazardous debris.”
New Hanover County Soil and Water Conservation District and the county’s engineering, finance, and hurricane recovery departments will collaborate on scheduling the work and receive engineering design services, real property rights, permits, construction contracts and in-kind services, and construction inspections, according to the county.
A map of all impacted creeks and watersheds can be found here and on the hurricane recovery website. The following is a list provided by the county of locations and the amount of funding received:
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- Dock Creek: $51,796
- Everette Creek: $249,384
- Futch Creek: $84,402
- Howe Creek: $202,011
- Motts Creek: $473,375
- Ness Creek: $263,346
- Pages Creek Watershed: $579,309
- Prince George Creek: $772,546
- Shipwatch Dr-Cape Fear River: $3,600
- Smith Creek: $989,147
- Sneeden Drive-Pipe: $9,430
- Whiskey Creek I: $181,246
- Whiskey Creek II: $536,904
