North Carolina will invest more than $244 million in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across 28 counties, advancing upgrades that address aging systems, flood resilience, emerging contaminants, and lead service line replacement. The funding package covers 45 projects and includes $44 million for western North Carolina communities recovering from Hurricane Helene.
The State Water Infrastructure Authority approved the awards after reviewing 123 funding applications totaling $1.6 billion. NCDEQ’s Division of Water Infrastructure will administer the projects using funding from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, IIJA, and the Community Development Block Grant-Infrastructure (CDBG-I) program.
Several major projects received funding in this round. Hendersonville secured $35 million to protect its wastewater treatment facility from future flooding, while Graham received $26.6 million to improve the reliability of its water treatment plant. The South Granville Water and Sewer Authority will use a $21.9 million IIJA loan to install PFAS treatment systems, and Newport will invest $13.4 million in water treatment plant improvements.
Other projects include water treatment plant upgrades in Newport, wastewater resiliency improvements in Waynesville, lead service line replacement projects in Marion and Littleton, and drinking water and sewer system improvements in Spring Lake. The next state funding round opens on August 4, with applications due by September 30.