Dozens of flood reduction projects to launch in 2025
Cory Vaillancourt photo
With about 280 projects approved across the state, the new year will bring visible on-the-ground progress in the effort to reduce flooding in North Carolina communities.
The projects remove stream debris and sediment, restore eroding stream banks and repair dams and other flood-control structures through the Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program (StRAP), which is overseen by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.The N.C. General Assembly allocated nearly $19.5 million to the NCDA&CS Division of Soil and Water Conservation to oversee the program.
An additional $4.7 million in funding has come from the Department of Environmental Quality’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint.Of the 111 grants awarded to local governments, one was given to each Haywood and Macon counties. This is the second round of funding for StRAP – with the initial allocation in the budget appropriations bill for the 2021-2022 fiscal year – and projects completed from the first round have already proven beneficial.
From Hurricane Helene in the west to Tropical Storm Debby in the east, local leaders reported improved drainage and less flooding in areas where StRAP projects were completed.
