Oak Island awarded $579,500 for dune infiltration system

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — A Brunswick County beach town has received a large grant for a dune infiltration system.

Oak Island was recently awarded $579,500 for the project, as part of $8 million in funding announced during the April meeting of the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors on April 4th.

“The Golden LEAF Foundation was entrusted by the N.C. General Assembly to implement a program for local governments seeking to mitigate flooding in their community,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “We are pleased to support the Town of Oak Island’s engineering and construction to install a dune infiltration system along with a small pump station and reinforced concrete pipe to reduce flooding in the affected area.”

Started in August 2023, the soon completed project saw the installation of a “dune infiltration” style drainage system in the area of Ocean Drive. This system is already working to reduce ponding and decrease occurrences of standing water along Ocean Drive, following significant rain events, according to a press release.