Since the plan was officially approved, three grants have been awarded to advance the Lake Mattamsukeet Watershed Restoration Plan.
1) The Clean Water Management Trust Fund awarded a grant to Hyde County. This project will allow stakeholders to consider developing a service district that would help to manage water levels in the watershed. It would also explore several possible locations to allow managed water to be sheet flowed over the landscape. Additional details about the grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund can be found here: https://www.nccoast.org/2019/09/funding-awarded-to-develop-plans-within-the-lake-mattamuskeet-watershed/
2) A grant from the National Science Foundation was awarded to a research team at East Carolina University to support a project that will take place within the Lake Mattamuskeet watershed titled, “Using Undergraduate Engineers and Community Engagement to Build Resilient Coastal Communities.”
This research seeks stakeholders’ and residents’ input on designing solutions to reduce flooding in and around the Lake Mattamuskeet watershed. The project is also interested in understanding how participating in the design process affects participants’ views on how the community near the lake can bounce back after major flooding events. The research team hopes to advance the engineering design of three projects with input from the community and learn how to better assist coastal communities with developing solutions to flooding issues.
People who live, work, or own property near Lake Mattamuskeet are invited to take part in this research. Those who volunteer will be asked to choose to either have a one-on-one interview with the research team or participate in a discussion with other stakeholders from the Lake Mattamuskeet watershed about potential solutions to the flooding issues. Given current recommendations for social distancing, the researchers are interested in conducting interviews and/or discussions over the phone or conference call. Participation will take approximately 1 hour. As a token of appreciation, each participant will receive a $20 gift card to a local restaurant. Contact Linda D’Anna at 252-475-5457 or dannal15@ecu.edu if you are interested in participating in this research study.
3) A grant from the State Legislature, as part of the Hurricane Dorian relief bill that was passed, secured funding in the amount of $1.8 Million for Hyde County to construct a pump station and related watershed restoration infrastructure for the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed.
Public Meeting to Kick Off the Next Steps of the Watershed Restoration Plan
The next public meeting for the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan will be scheduled once guidance permits public gatherings. The forthcoming meeting will cover additional details about the recent grant awards and outline the process and steps for the plan to move to implementation.
To view the approved watershed restoration plan, upcoming public meeting agenda, materials from past public meetings, visit: nccoast.org/lakemattamuskeet. Interested community members and stakeholders can also sign-up for the email list for future updates and leave comments via the project webpage. Questions about the watershed plan can be directed to Michael Flynn, coastal advocate for the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s office in Wanchese at 252-473-1607 or michaelf@nccoast.org.