Millions of dollars in water projects going out to NC towns, Stein says
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- State awards millions for water and wastewater projects across North Carolina.
- Funding targets PFAS removal, pump station replacement and water resiliency.
- Gov. Stein is at National Governors Association meeting in Washington
Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter focused on the governor. I’m Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.
Millions of dollars will start flowing into towns across the state for water and wastewater projects, Gov. Josh Stein and the Department of Environmental Quality, which is a Cabinet agency, announced on Thursday.
Upgrading infrastructure has generally been a nonpartisan issue for Stein, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled General Assembly for years. Here are some of the newly-funded projects:
- $3 million to Woodland, in Northampton County, for wastewater treatment plant rehabilitation
- Nearly $6 million to Grifton in Pitt County to replace five wastewater pump stations
- $3.5 million to McDowell County to extend the Providence Hall water line
- $17.8 million to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in clean water state revolving funds
- $33 million to Goldsboro in Wayne County for drinking water state revolving funds and loan to build a treatment project to remove PFAS chemicals contamination
- $10 million to Newland in Avery County in drinking water state revolving funds, for a water system resiliency project
Dozens of projects are on the list, which just received approval from the State Water Infrastructure Authority. Stein said in a statement that “upgrading our state’s aging water infrastructure must be a priority,” noting lack of water after Helene, adding that these “investments will make our infrastructure more resilient in the face of future severe weather or disasters and improve access to clean drinking water for North Carolinians across the state.”
Stein in Washington for governors’ meeting
Stein has been in Washington this past week for the National Governors Association winter meeting. He’s also co-chair of the Council of Governors, which met and discussed the National Guard, cybersecurity and disaster response and recovery.
Stay informed about #ncpol
Be sure to listen to our weekly Under the Dome podcast. I host a new episode that comes out every Tuesday. This week, I’m recording a new episode with a member of the Council of State. The Council of State’s next meeting will be held March 3, which is also primary day. Here at The N&O, we have a slew of voter guide stories for you so you can be better informed. Here’s just a sampling of our recent candidate questionnaires for the General Assembly’s primaries:
- What Sheriff Sam Page, GOP challenger to Senate leader Phil Berger, says on issues
- Orange County Democratic primary candidates on education, marijuana, taxes
- What GOP budget writer says about taxes, economic security & more in NC primary
- What Johnston County GOP House member and primary challenger say about issues
Thanks for reading. Reach me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com or the entire politics team at dome@newsobserver.com.
This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Millions of dollars in water projects going out to NC towns, Stein says."
