Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) at a groundbreaking event today to celebrate the progress of a new and significant natural infrastructure pilot project.
The Stoney Creek pilot project is an innovative approach to utilizing natural infrastructure and nature’s processes to address flood risk in the City of Goldsboro and in the greater area of Wayne County, North Carolina. Moreover, it is a major step forward in advancing community flood resilience across the entire state.
The goal of the Stoney Creek pilot
Widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene this past fall served as a somber reminder of how flooding can impact North Carolinian communities. It wasn’t long ago that Goldsboro and surrounding communities also felt flooding impacts from Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. In fact, all North Carolinian communities are at risk of more frequent and increasingly severe hurricanes and storms. Projects like the Stoney Creek pilot are a great opportunity to prioritize resilience-building and seek solutions that will reduce the impact of future flooding events.
According to Goldsboro officials, all streams in the city are subject to flooding and storms may cause water levels to rise. A recent study showed that using flood mitigation practices that mimic natural processes, like adding temporary flood storage capacity into an agricultural watershed, opened access to emergency services within the area. This eventually led to the development of DEQ’s Natural Infrastructure Mitigation Program, then leading to the Stoney Creek pilot project, which when implemented will use natural infrastructure practices, like restoring streams or building wetlands, to reduce flooding impacts across whole watersheds, like Stoney Creek.
In particular, the Stoney Creek project aims to increase access to essential services like businesses, roadways and emergency care. Reducing flood risk will also greatly benefit the county’s top industries, which include agriculture and the military.
Seeing the bigger picture
The Stoney Creek pilot project is part of the state’s larger Natural Infrastructure Flood Mitigation Program and further paves the way for future initiatives to reduce flood risk and build resilience across North Carolina.
Importantly, lessons learned from this pilot project will be essential as the DEQ scales solutions in North Carolina’s first-ever Flood Resiliency Blueprint. The Blueprint is a major statewide effort led by DEQ and in collaboration with stakeholders, including EDF, local government, community members, conservation partners, agricultural organizations and businesses. Once completed, it will function as an online support tool and compile all relevant resources and knowledge in one place, aimed at helping North Carolinians make informed flood resilience planning decisions.
Looking forward
Today, we are happy to celebrate the progress made in the Stoney Creek pilot project and want to acknowledge the importance of leveraging North Carolina’s valuable natural resources to deploy strategies that build resilience in combating increasing flood risks. EDF looks forward to continued collaboration with the DEQ and stakeholders as the Flood Resilience Blueprint’s online tool is released this spring and this project enters the next phase of implementation.
As Will McDow, Associate Vice President of EDF’s Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds program recently said, “The Stoney Creek project is a testament to the ongoing commitment of our local and state leaders to address the growing threat of flooding and storms. Now, more than ever, it’s clear that flood mitigation is not just a necessity but a critical investment in the health and safety of our communities. The state will be recovering from our most recent natural disaster, Hurricane Helene, for years to come. It’s a sobering reminder of why this work is so essential. Our collective efforts are making a lasting difference, and today marks an important milestone along our journey to create a brighter, safer, more cost-effective future for flood resilience across North Carolina.”
