Governor to Divert ARC Funding to Drought Stricken Communities

$1.58 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to help expand six western North Carolina communities public water supplies

March 18, 2008

COUNTY NC NEWS -- The Governor announced that six western North Carolina communities are eligible for total of $1.58 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to help expand their public water supplies. The six towns are considered to be facing the most severe water shortages among communities within the state. Those six towns are:

• Lenoir
• Valdese
• Tryon
• Marshall
• Mars Hill
• Blowing Rock

The grants come from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a unique federal-state partnership providing social and economic support for a 13-state region stretching along the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. The commission receives an annual appropriation from Congress that it allocates throughout the region, which includes North Carolina's western-most counties. North Carolina received a total of $3.5 million from the commission this year.

Governor Easley recommended funding for following drought-related projects:

$300,000 for the city of Lenoir to help pay for a new, deeper water intake in Lake Rhodhiss to provide access to a deeper source of drinking water for city residents and regional water customers.

$80,000 for Valdese to study its water system as the first step to making it more efficient. The current, aging system is losing 15 percent of its water to unknown sources. In addition, recent line breaks led to the wasting of thousands of gallons of water.

$300,000 for Tryon to create a regional water system in Polk County. Currently Tryon's only source of water is the overflow from Lake Lanier. When no water flows over the dam, the town essentially has no available drinking water. In addition, Tryon provides backup water to the Town of Columbus, which has only deep wells as its water source. This project will connect the water supplies of Tryon and the City of Saluda, add a booster water pump to the existing connection between Tryon and Columbus, and place an unused water intake near Tryon to provide a reliable secondary water source during periods of drought.

$300,000 for Marshall to build two new wells, a new reservoir and update existing water lines. The expansion is designed to alleviate a critical situation with the town's current water system. Users are exceeding the allowed 80 percent capacity, and the system has experienced an extraordinary number of line breaks and failures during the past year leading to the depletion of the town's reservoir reserves.

$300,000 for Mars Hill to stabilize and enhance its water system by building an interconnection with the City of Weaverville. This project will create a regional system that efficiently utilizes and manages potable water from both the Laurel Fork and Ivy watersheds.

$300,000 for Blowing Rock to connect to the Town of Boone's water system. Boone has access to a larger water source and recently signed an agreement with Appalachian State University to be able to draw on its water system, so this will grant will create a regional system that all three entities can use during times of crisis.

Normally the money is spent on programs designed to make communities more competitive in the 21st century global economy, but do to the seriousness of the drought situation, Governor Easley will divert almost half of this year's allocation to drought relief. Although the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C., has final approval on the grants, and the commission is expected to side with the governor's recommendations.

During the announcement Governor Easley said, "These communities are among the most vulnerable in our state and could run out of water if the drought continues into the summer. We helped these towns identify new water sources and now we are helping them pay to connect to those sources."

Established by the United States Congress in 1965, when Appalachia was considered "a region apart" from the rest of the nation, the Appalachian Regional Commission has worked to bring Appalachia's 22 million people into America's economic mainstream. Each year ARC provides funding for projects throughout the Appalachian Region of North Carolina. These projects:

• Improve educational opportunities and workforce skills.
• Improve infrastructure for community and economic development.
• Increase civic and leadership capacity.
• Increase entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Improve health care resources.

Projects approved for Appalachian Regional Commission's assistance must support one of the four general goals:

• Increase job opportunities and per capita income in Appalachia to reach parity with the nation.
• Strengthen the capacity of the people of Appalachia to compete in the global economy.
• Develop and improve Appalachia's infrastructure to make the Region economically competitive.
• Build the Appalachian Development Highway System to reduce Appalachia's isolation.

The Appalachian Regional Commission supports economic development activities in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey counties in North Carolina.