Rep. David Rouzer talks rebuilding damaged dike in Bladen County

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) — The discussion over the White Oak Dike, which was breached during Hurricane Florence, continued Wednesday afternoon when North Carolina 7th Congressional District Rep. David Rouzer visited Bladen County.

When water breached the dike system a few days after the storm in September 2018, hundreds of people in Kelly were impacted by flooding. Some had to be rescued by helicopter.

“It originally was an Army Corps of Engineers project. Back in 2001, the Army Corps basically washed their hands of it for a variety of reasons,” said Rep. Rouzer.

Responsibility to rebuild the dike now falls into the hands of the local community. The rural area of Kelly has nowhere near the funds to do that.

“It’s going to require, I believe, a joint local and state effort in coordination if anything’s going to be done expeditiously,” said Rouzer.

Rouzer says even if the Army Corps of Engineers does get involved, it could take a decade for anything to happen. He says they have more demand, more rules and regulations, and fewer dollars than they did 20 or 30 years ago.

“Army corps, they’re a great agency. We deal with them on a consistent basis on many many projects all throughout southeastern North Carolina,” Rouzer said. “But to get them back engaged is going to be a very time consuming long process. It could last up to a decade before there’s any substantial work on the ground.”

Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker did discuss the possibility of using inmates to work on the dike, but no official decisions were made.