Charles Ray Peterson has seen flood waters “almost head high” in Bladenboro.
Hurricane Matthew pummeled the town in 2016, killing at least two people in Bladen County. Two years later, Hurricane Florence dumped more than 30 inches of rain. In 2024, Tropical Storm Debby cut off roadways to Bladenboro after leaving more than 3 feet of standing water in the town’s streets, forcing residents to get around in boats.
Peterson, a Bladen County commissioner who lives in Bladenboro, was relieved when the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced a $1.6 million project that will restore natural streamflow to route water away from downtown.
“It’s really going to make a difference in our community,” Peterson told local officials, state lawmakers, and environmentalists who gathered for the announcement on May 29.
The project will clear and widen a culvert under South Main Street so water can properly flow to the nearby Bryant Swamp. Flood water that doesn’t immediately drain into the swamp will pool in a new floodplain off West Bladen Street that can hold 3.9 million gallons of water. Newly planted vegetation will help prevent erosion along streambanks leading to Bryant Swamp.
“The outlet will reliably discharge water away from downtown, the channel will keep water moving during normal conditions, and the floodplain provides extra capacity during those storm events,” Nathan Renaudin, project manager at Resource Environmental Solutions, told the crowd. His company is helping with the project, which is in the early stages.
Before the project is built, residents will have the chance to weigh in on specifics.
The state’s Natural Infrastructure Flood Mitigation Program is overseeing the project as part of the N.C. Flood Resiliency Blueprint, which aims to prevent flooding by providing local governments with tools and funding. The program has handed out over $43 million since 2024.
Currently, the blueprint focuses efforts in six of the state’s 17 river basins using $96 million from the N.C. General Assembly. Gov. Josh Stein included another $10.8 million to expand the program statewide in his proposed budget.
“We now know, because of [Hurricane] Helene, that these devastating storms can strike anywhere,” Secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Reid Wilson told the Border Belt Independent. “What we are trying to do with the Flood Resiliency Blueprint and the Natural Infrastructure Flood Mitigation Program is to work with local governments, whether they’re large, medium, or small, to help them determine the best projects they can do that will provide the biggest relief from future flooding, and to avoid the problems.”
State lawmakers are expected to pass a budget this month, which they haven’t done since 2023. Wilson said Republican state Sen. Brent Jackson, who represents Bladen County, has been “a great champion” for the flood programs.
Peterson said Bladenboro would be a ghost town without help to rebuild from repeated storm and flood damage. Bladen is among the most economically distressed counties in North Carolina. The closing of the Bladenboro Cotton Mill in 2000 decimated what Peterson said was a thriving community. He said Bladenboro ”got worse and worse and worse every year,” recalling times when just one or two businesses filled its downtown storefronts.
“Now it’s changed,” Peterson told the Border Belt Independent. “You can come uptown at night, and people are visiting stores, or they’re eating out. It’s just a totally different environment since we’ve tried to rebuild our town.”
In 2021, state and federal funds kicked off downtown Bladenboro’s revitalization. Grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the nonprofit Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial helped rebuild the town square above flood waters in 2024, keeping businesses dry during Tropical Storm Debby.
Last year, Canadian fiberglass rebar supplier, MST Rebar Inc., announced it would locate its first U.S. facility in Bladenboro. Cape Fear Valley Health will open a new pharmacy in June.
“We’re rebuilding our town,” Peterson said.