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A partnership between the state and City of Whiteville has resulted in completion of the Whiteville Community Floodprint, which is a local plan that contains flood mitigation and resilience recommendations developed through public input and planning. Funded by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) using the state’s HUD mitigation grant and led by the N.C. State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab, this is the first of six CDDL/NCORR community floodprints to be completed. The floodprint was formally accepted during a May city council meeting.
Floodprinting is a CDDL-developed method of resilience planning which focuses on the recovery and resilience-building needs of flood-prone communities. Throughout the 16-month project, the CDDL team provided technical assistance to city staff to accelerate ongoing community recovery from hurricanes Matthew and Florence. In addition to working with residents and city officials, CDDL used hydraulic modeling and reviewed historical data and documents to create a plan that focused on the specific resilience needs of the Whiteville community. The report was produced with no direct cost to the City of Whiteville or its residents.
Projects related to the Mollie’s Branch stream corridor and downtown business district were the focus of the report’s mitigation strategies, based on public feedback and city guidance.
“The plans will help downtown with flooding and will also help a lot of residential areas on the west side of town, since Mollie’s Branch (stream) runs the length of most of town and then cuts through downtown,” said Whiteville City Manager Darren Currie.
The use of data and planning details from the CDDL’s past floodprint projects have led to millions of dollars of grant-funded investment in North Carolina communities. Whiteville has already received a Golden LEAF Foundation grant, which will provide $249,880 for surveying, design and engineering along Mollie’s Branch. The money could also serve as matching funds needed for a large FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant that has been submitted. In addition, Whiteville and CDDL have applied for a grant from the Environmental Enhancement Grant program managed by the N.C. Department of Justice.
“It’s been a good partnership,” Currie added. “Not only do they tell you about issues they see and what can help mitigate them, but they help you go after grant funding, which is especially helpful for small communities like us.”
Floodprint work has also been underway in Goldsboro and with the Coharie Tribe of Sampson County. In addition to helping the communities directly, the documents will also help guide NCORR program planning in the most storm-impacted areas of eastern North Carolina. Floodprints are particularly useful for the office’s Strategic Buyout Program, which purchases eligible properties located in high-risk flood areas. The voluntary buyout option allows owners of flood-damaged property to relocate to a safer location.
In January 2022, NCORR launched the three-year, six floodprint collaboration with CDDL. Potential communities for the floodprint process must be within HUD or state-identified most impacted and distressed areas from hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Other considerations include community interest and flood-vulnerable properties. More information about the floodprint initiative is available at the CDDL website. Learn more about NCORR and the Strategic Buyout Program at ReBuild.NC.Gov.