State grant aims to strengthen western N.C. water systems

OLD FORT, N.C. — Many western North Carolina communities will soon see support from state funding for drinking water and wastewater resiliency improvements.

Amy Davis is busy filling Christmas family boxes with things like turkey, ham and chili.

“This year a lot of people are able to cook for themselves and we found the need for the family feast went up and the need for the prepared meals went down, which is showing a really good shift in that people have a stable situation,” the co-owner of the Davis Country Store and Cafe in Old Fort said.

Old Fort was one of the hardest hit locations during Hurricane Helene. The town’s wastewater treatment center was 14 feet underwater, and areas of the town didn’t have safe drinking water for more than a month. The family-owned business served as one of the main distribution hubs after the storm.

Now, water service is restored, but Davis says there are still issues with water quality, which affects her restaurant. 

“We use water every single day and every single aspect. We’ve had to move to bottled water because the treatment of the water has to be complicated and over the top,” Davis said.

Earlier this month, Gov. Josh Stein and Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Old Fort after announcing the $270 million grant. This will support 58 water systems, making infrastructure less vulnerable in the future. Old Fort will receive $15 million to repair and replace the drinking water line and sewer system lines. 

“We want to make sure towns in the future will continue to have safe drinking water that people can trust when they turn on their tap, even if there has been a bad storm. And we want to make sure wastewater systems are working so that down-stream communities are having a clean, healthy stream full of healthy clean water towards them,” Wilson said.

Davis says she is thankful for the state’s help as recovery continues.

“Seeing that someone on a federal and state level want to come down here and take care and make sure we are whole again that we can start building back is really important,” she said.

The grant will also support water improvements in Chimney Rock Village, and the towns of Clyde and Crossnore.

The state has $329 million more to allocate. There are two deadlines for towns to apply for funding — one closes Jan. 9, the other March 2. 

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