News

Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Hendersonville win Helene repair grants

An aerial photo shows flooding of the Rocky Broad River during Hurricane Helene that destroyed much of the village of Chimney Rock.

By NORTH CAROLINA TRIBUNE, Published: December 12, 2025

Chimney Rock is getting nearly $11.9 million in aid for water and sewer infrastructure as it continues to recover from Hurricane Helene, Gov. Josh Stein’s office says.

The awards — federal disaster relief money channeled through the state government — are part of a broader package totaling about $280 million that also includes grants to Hendersonville, Asheville, Lake Lure and Rosman. 

The money for Chimney Rock will pay for a new sewage-treatment plant, sewer lines to homes that formerly relied on septic systems, and a resiliency upgrade to its water system. Chimney Rock is high on the list of the communities hardest hit by Helene. Flooding along the Broad River all but wiped it off the map. 

Another large grant, for $7.6 million, will be used to repair or replace Helene-damaged or failed septic systems in an 11-county area that spans Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties. The governor’s office expects that money to cover 300 systems — an average of $25,190 each.

The State Water Infrastructure Authority is channeling a further $4.3 million to a western North Carolina nonprofit, MountainTrue, for a similar set of septic-system repairs in a 14-county region centered on Buncombe County.

Other large allocations include: 

• $15 million to Hendersonville, to loop part of its water-delivery network and for floodproofing of its sewage-treatment plant.
• $10 million to Asheville, for repairs at one of its water-treatment plants.
• $15.4 million to Lake Lure. The Rutherford County town, just downriver from Chimney Rock, will use $5 million of that to design and build a new sewer plant, $6.6 million for an emergency water line and the rest for a “bulk chemical storage building.”
• Just under $9 million to Rosman, in Transylvania County, for various water and sewer projects. 
• $10.4 million to Crossnore’s government for resiliency upgrades to both the water and sewer systems of the Avery County town.
• $10.9 to Beech Mountain, for similar resiliency upgrades.
• $15 million to Hickory, for a new water-tank connection and improvements to a sewer line along Henry Fork, a Catawba River tributary.
• $9.3 million to Clyde’s government, which will use just over half the money to harden its sewer system and the rest for a pipeline that would allow Clyde, Canton and Waynesville to share water in a crisis.
• $14.9 million to the town of Marshall, in Madison County. About a third of the money will go to relocating the town’s sewage plant. The rest will pay for water-system upgrades.
• $15 million to Old Fort. A third of that is for sewer projects, the rest for “water resiliency improvements.”
• Just under $10 million to Bakerville, in Mitchell County. It’s a half-and-half split for water and sewer work.
• $9.8 million to Bryson City, split more or less half-and-half for water and sewer work.
• $13.1 million to Burnsville. The Yancey County town will use it on a new sewer line and improvement to its water system.

Stein’s office said about $270 million of the package is Helene relief aid. Most of the remaining money is paying for lead-pipe replacements in cities like Winston-Salem. Officials had previously awarded $86 million for Helene-related water and sewer work, and anticipate approving more grants in February and April. The money comes from the disaster-relief bill Congress passed just before Christmas 2024.