Governor Stein, Department of Environmental Quality Announce $244 Million for Drinking Water and Wastewater Projects

Today Governor Josh Stein announced that 28 counties across North Carolina will receive more than $244 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects, with $44 million going to western North Carolina to continue Hurricane Helene recovery. 

The State Water Infrastructure Authority (SWIA) approved awards on July 15 to help cities, towns, and counties strengthen infrastructure to better withstand future storms, improve existing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, reduce forever chemicals contamination, and identify and replace lead pipes. 

“We are working to ensure every North Carolinian has clean, reliable water every time they turn on their tap,” said Governor Josh Stein. “These new projects will make towns’ water systems more resilient, protect residents from forever chemicals, and make North Carolina’s communities safer, stronger, and healthier for years to come.” 

“These drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects will protect people from dangerous chemicals, strengthen communities’ resilience to floods, and enable economic growth,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “Safe drinking water and clean-running streams are what every North Carolinian deserves and expects.”  

The State Water Infrastructure Authority, an independent body with primary responsibility for awarding federal and state funding for water infrastructure projects, approved a total of 45 projects for funding during its July 15 meeting in Raleigh.

Some of the projects funded include:  

• The City of Graham (Alamance County) will receive a loan of $26,558,534 from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) for its Graham-Mebane Water Treatment Plant Reliability Project. 
• The South Granville Water & Sewer Authority (Granville County) will receive a loan of $21,868,000 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) DWSRF for its Post-Filter PFAS Treatment Improvements Project. 
• Pitt County will receive a $250,000 loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems Pilot Program to repair or replace failing septic systems. 
• The City of Marion (McDowell County) will receive a loan of $3,421,300 in IIJA DWSRF-Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) funds for its Lead & Copper Service Replacement Project and $1,000,000 for its Lead & Copper Service Inventory Project. 
• The City of Hendersonville (Henderson County) will receive $35,000,000 in CWSRF loans for its Wastewater Treatment Facility Flood Mitigation Project. 
• The Town of Newport (Carteret County) will receive a loan of $13,420,000 in DWSRF funds for its Water Treatment Improvements / Replacement Water Plant Project. 
• The Town of Siler City / TriRiver Water (Lee County) will receive a loan of $5,000,000 in IIJA CWSRF-Emerging Contaminants-Construction funds for the Siler City PFAS Treatment Construction Project. 
• The Town of Waynesville (Haywood County) will receive a loan of $5,443,600 in CWSRF funds for its Wastewater Treatment Plant Resiliency Upgrades Project. 
• The Town of Littleton (Halifax County) will receive a loan of $1,859,000 in IIJA-DWSRF-LSLR funds for its Find & Replace Lead Service Line Project and a loan of $589,000 for its Lead Service Line Replacement Project. 
• The Village of Simpson (Pitt County) will receive a loan of $10,136,125 in CWSRF funds for its Wastewater Collection System Improvements Project. 
• The Town of Spring Lake (Cumberland County) will receive a loan of $1,554,750 in DWSRF funds for its Drinking Water System Improvements Project and a loan of $3,442,550 in CWSRF funds for its Sewer System Improvements Project. 

A complete list of the projects selected for funding is available on the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) website. DEQ’s Division of Water Infrastructure (DWI) reviewed 123 applications, which requested a total of $1.6 billion.

Funding this round came from: 

• The Community Development Block Grant-Infrastructure (CDBG-I) program, which provides grants to fund projects in areas that meet the U.S. Housing and Urban Development low- to moderate-income threshold. CDBG-I is available to non-entitlement municipalities and counties and offers grants up to $3 million per applicant every three years. 
• The Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRFs), which provide low-interest loans (including loans that may be partially forgiven) for drinking water and wastewater projects.  
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), IIJA Emerging Contaminants (PFAS) fund and IIJA Lead Service Line Replacement fund. 

DWI will offer a fall 2026 funding round, which begins Aug. 4. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Sept. 30, 2026. 

DWI will conduct in-person funding application training for the fall 2026 funding round from Aug. 4 through Aug. 12 at four locations: Hickory, Asheville, Research Triangle Park/Durham, and Kinston. A virtual option via Webex will also be available on Aug. 10, and a recording of the training will be posted on the division’s application training web page. 

Learn more about the Division of Water Infrastructure’s funding programs here.