South Asheville News

U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards announced that the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have passed S. 4367, known as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024. This legislation includes significant funding authorizations for Western North Carolina and is now awaiting the president's signature to become law.

The act allocates over $41 million for flood mitigation along the Pigeon River in Canton, N.C., $1.5 million for downtown water system rehabilitation in Murphy, N.C., $4 million for water plant expansion in Weaverville, N.C., and more than $3.4 million for water infrastructure upgrades in Robbinsville, N.C.

Additionally, three bills introduced by Edwards were incorporated into WRDA 2024: the National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act of 2023, the National Dam Safety Program Amendment Act, and the Low-Head Dam Inventory Act.

Edwards stated, "WNC, with its many lakes and rivers, must remain at the forefront of dam safety and I’m pleased that the House passed three of my bills to provide federal support for the nearly 92,000 dams that serve critical functions across our nation."

He emphasized the importance of these measures following significant flooding from Hurricane Helene. "The significant flooding following Hurricane Helene underscored the importance of improving dam safety efforts to prevent catastrophic dam failures, protect lives and downstream communities," Edwards added.

North Carolina’s 11th district contains over 750 dams; many are reported to be in poor or unsatisfactory condition. The American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) 2021 Report Card gave America's dams a “D” grade in safety. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) estimates that it would require $157.5 billion to repair high-hazard dams adequately.

The bipartisan National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act extends authorization through fiscal year 2028. The National Dam Safety Program Amendment Act increases state funding by 800 percent under FEMA's existing funds to enhance national dam safety efforts. Meanwhile, the Low-Head Dam Inventory Act mandates that low-head dams be documented within the National Inventory of Dams to ensure proper maintenance and prevention of failures.

Low-head dams are structures built across rivers or streams to manage water flow or levels but currently lack a formal tracking process nationwide. According to American Whitewater data from 2019 to 2022, there were 192 incidents involving low-head dam failures resulting in 151 deaths.