Whiteville residents describe repeated home flooding as city outlines stormwater projects and funding

Several Whiteville residents told the City Council on public comment that repeated stormwater backups have flooded yards and homes, causing mold and apparent structural damage, while city staff outlined past studies, identified projects and said a newly adopted stormwater ordinance and an annual fee will fund local mitigation.

John Wood, a Whiteville resident, urged council members to take action on public-health and drainage concerns and to promote local recreational assets as community health resources. "Maybe I'm asking ... with a little effort, we can make some difference," Wood said.

Another resident, Ezra Langto, described damage to his newly purchased house after a stormwater drain across from his property repeatedly overflowed. "Last Wednesday...the stormwater drain across from my house flooded and overflowed, causing a nice, happy little river that flows directly into my property," Langto said. He said he measured about 24 inches of standing water in his backyard and 27 inches in his foundation, reported ongoing high indoor humidity and said a structural engineer found the house had "sunk 4 and a half inches" with failing piers. Langto asked whether resources exist to help homeowners mitigate damages, how the city intends to resolve continuing damage tied to city systems, and what alternatives beyond ditches and undersized culverts have been considered.

In a presentation, city staff summarized work undertaken since an initial 2016 push to address downtown flooding. Staff said the city obtained a $150,000 grant to study downtown drainage and identified seven priority projects in that study. The city also reported securing $295,000 in seed money in a portal and establishing a stormwater crew (called the "stormwater park" in the presentation) that has been operating about five years for local maintenance such as cleaning culverts and ditches where the city has authority.

Staff warned that some ditch clearing is constrained by private-property limits. "We can't just go clean out private property...that's a misappropriation," a staff presenter said, noting legal and practical limits on city crews. The presentation said a stricter local stormwater ordinance was adopted based on engineering recommendations to require better on-site runoff control, and that a stormwater fee now appears on property tax bills to fund local work.

Officials said some of the larger projects identified in the study were prepared in 2018 cost estimates and were developed by North Carolina Coastal Dynamics and DesignLab; the presentation said InCorp paid for those technical services. Staff noted recent intense short-duration rainfall events — including one episode the presenter said involved 2.75 inches of rain in 45 minutes to an hour and isolated reports of higher amounts — that exceed the design capacity for many existing systems.

Staff also reported progress on negotiations for easements needed for a key west-side project draining toward J.K. Pyle Boulevard and said the Canal Street drainage project has paperwork submitted to the contractor and requires minor engineering amendments.

City presenters said the council and staff are pursuing alternative funding sources, and that some council members had been in contact with state delegations to seek reinstated or new funding. No formal action on capital projects was recorded during the meeting.

Residents pressed for clearer guidance and direct assistance. Langto said he has repeatedly requested help and described the responses so far as insufficient: "So far ... the responses I received have been more akin to those given to placate a toddler than those given to a man trying to keep his family sheltered."