North Augusta Gets $1M Grant for Environmental Clean-up; More Funding in the Pipeline

Federal officials awarded North Augusta $1 million to repair storm damage from Hurricane Helene. The city awaits word on an additional $1.3 million. Through the USDA's Natural Resources program, crews will fix seven spots in local water basins.

At Willow Wick creek, workers have finished most repairs. They've also removed mud and debris near the River Club, where a pond had filled with storm waste. Short-term fixes started with $42,000 in city cash.

"It was very hard to derive," Zeaser said about cost estimates per The Post and Courier. "We had no basis; we had a creek full of trees."

The second funding request sits in limbo during the federal shutdown. If approved, crews would tackle additional storm-damaged sites found in recent checks. Officials spotted these problems weeks after Helene struck.

Past success with federal aid shows promise. In 2022, the city spent just $1.6 million of a $2.45 million grant to fix Pole Branch after Hurricane Sally, coming in lower than the initial estimates.

Workers now focus on stopping soil loss, clearing built-up muck, and removing fallen trees from streams.