Navigating Through the Waters of WEP Disaster

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” While I have the greatest respect for Mr. Franklin, another certainty is that disasters will also happen. The uncertainty is where or when. Weather events like hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and flooding are not only a certainty, but the frequency and intensity of these occurrences have increased as well.  

Kentucky experienced one of these extreme weather events in the summer of 2022. Between July 25 and July 30, 2022, several complex thunderstorms brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. Per the National Weather Service radar-based rainfall estimates, upwards of 14-16 inches of rain fell during this five-day period in a narrow swath, with many more locations receiving 6-10 inches of rain. As a result of this 1,000-year flooding event, many of the residents living in the affected communities lost most of their physical possessions while some lost their lives. Utilities in several of these southeastern Kentucky counties were gravely impacted, including the Letcher County Water District (LCWD) and the small city of Fleming-Neon in Letcher County, Kentucky. Most of LCWD’s distribution assets were severely damaged during these events including watermains/waterlines, residential and non-residential water meters, ground water storage tanks, and pressure reducing valves. Fleming-Neon’s waterlines were pulled from the ground and washed away in the flood waters. Fleming-Neon’s wastewater treatment plant was affected, and many wastewater collection lines and lift stations were severely damaged. With all this devastation, where would funding assistance come from? 

Luckily for the rural utility systems in Kentucky, another certainty is that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is always there to assist in times of need. USDA’s Rural Utilities Service announced the acceptance of applications under the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Disaster Water Grants Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023: Water Environmental Programs (WEP). This grant program would help eligible communities pay expenses related to damages (Presidentially Declared Disasters) that occurred between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Kentucky received a direct allocation of approximately $10 million, with the allocation of funds distributed on a competitive basis so the completion/submission of complete applications to RUS in an accelerated manner would be critical.  

RCAP staff assisted LCWD with the completion of the Flood Damage Replacement Project WEP Disaster Grant application to replace remaining old and damaged magnetic drive meters with new ultrasonic meters and adopting a single billing software. The proposed project would return the residential metering network to its homogenous pre-flood state and improve meter reliability and operational efficiency. RCAP staff assisted Fleming-Neon with the completion of the Water Distribution System Replacement Phase 2 WEP Disaster Application for drinking water to replace waterlines and appurtenances inside the city limits of Fleming-Neon that were severely damaged by the flooding. Additionally, RCAP assisted the city with a wastewater WEP Disaster grant application where WEP Disaster funding would be utilized as a match for FEMA funding to perform rehabilitation on several flood damaged wastewater lift stations in the collection system outside city limits. All three applications were submitted through RD Apply to RUS in an expedited fashion. In addition to damage repairs and replacement grants to communities, USDA RD provided additional funding so that RCAP could assist with submitting full applications and developing system capacity and resiliency to reduce or eliminate long-term risks from future events. Additionally, RCAP is assisting LCWD and Fleming-Neon with updating their Risk and Resilience Assessments and Emergency Response Plans so they can be more aware of potential disasters and be better prepared to deal effectively with those events. 

As a direct result of RCAP’s assistance, LCWD secured WEP Disaster Grant funding in the amount of $2,571,000 while Fleming-Neon secured WEP Disaster Grant funding in the amount of $5,407,000 for the drinking water project and $1,774,000 for the wastewater project. The three projects accounted for the entire amount of Kentucky’s direct allocation. These grant awards, along with the unwavering resiliency of Letcher County residents, will go a long way as these communities move toward recovery. USDA and RCAP will continue to assist these communities to not only survive, but to thrive. 

This article is funded by USDA under RCAP’s WEP Disaster TA 2024-2026 grant.