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, also allocated from the General Assembly, has come from the Department of Environmental Quality’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint.
“This fall we awarded grants to 111 local governments, Soil and Water Conservation districts and nonprofits for these projects, and I know these communities will be better for it,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler. “Some of them were awarded funding for multiple projects, which brought the total planned projects to around 280. Work on 25 projects is already complete, and our Soil and Water Conservation Division is currently in the process of finalizing the remaining contracts so we can help the local entities move forward with engineering and stream work in the coming year.”
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.
“No amount of preparation would have prevented Helene’s catastrophic impact. However, stream debris removal completed through StRAP had a positive impact during this event,” said Mark Byrd, the director of the Mitchell Soil and Water Conservation District. “The district is now moving forward with StRAP funding to further remove debris located in other streams and floodways of Mitchell County.”
The planned projects are in 72 counties and 15 of the state’s 17 river basins. A count of projects by county is below. More details about strap and a complete listing of projects can be found at https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/soil-water-conservation/programs-initiatives/strap
“We look forward to working with our partners in Soil and Water Conservation districts, local governments and other entities to make this second round of StRAP another success,” said David Williams, director of the NCDA&CS Division of Soil and Water Conservation. “We are committed to making their communities more resilient to flooding.”
County | Total StRAP Projects | County | Total StRAP Projects | County | Total StRAP Projects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamance | 4 | Davie | 3 | Onslow | 1 |
| Alexander | 1 | Duplin | 6 | Orange | 3 |
| Alleghany | 7 | Durham | 1 | Pamlico | 13 |
| Anson | 1 | Edgecombe | 2 | Pasquotank | 9 |
| Ashe | 1 | Forsyth | 6 | Pender | 4 |
| Avery | 2 | Gaston | 3 | Perquimans | 6 |
| Beaufort | 13 | Gates | 1 | Person | 1 |
| Bladen | 2 | Greene | 1 | Pitt | 3 |
| Brunswick | 1 | Harnett | 2 | Polk | 1 |
| Buncombe | 2 | Haywood | 1 | Randolph | 1 |
| Burke | 1 | Henderson | 4 | Robeson | 14 |
| Caldwell | 1 | Hertford | 9 | Rockingham | 1 |
| Camden | 8 | Hoke | 2 | Rowan | 1 |
| Catawba | 3 | Hyde | 5 | Sampson | 5 |
| Chatham | 2 | Iredell | 3 | Scotland | 6 |
| Chowan | 6 | Johnston | 2 | Stokes | 12 |
| Clay | 2 | Jones | 2 | Surry | 1 |
| Cleveland | 5 | Lenoir | 2 | Union | 5 |
| Columbus | 4 | Macon | 1 | Washington | 9 |
| Craven | 2 | Martin | 9 | Watauga | 1 |
| Cumberland | 5 | McDowell | 1 | Wayne | 5 |
| Currituck | 16 | Mitchell | 3 | Wilkes | 3 |
| Dare | 5 | Montgomery | 1 | Wilson | 1 |
| Davidson | 6 | Nash | 6 | Yancey | 3 |
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