Black residents in Brunswick County who are currently on well water have enlisted the help of Earth Rights International to advocate for clean drinking water. They organized to show up at the County Commission meeting Monday evening to voice their concerns.
Sabrina Beal is a Bolivia resident who spoke up at the meeting, one of at least a dozen advocates who attended.
"I have been coming here for the past five decades, and the water has drastically changed from what it used to be, taste color prior to the new residential developments being built have churned out grounds and changes this," she said.
Other residents spoke about discolored water and contamination. They’re asking the county to help them connect to existing water systems, particularly as new developments are bringing water lines closer and closer to their neighborhoods.
Carl Parker is the president of the Brunswick County NAACP, and says the neighbors sent a petition years ago asking the county to apply for a grant to help them. He says the county didn’t apply, which is why they brought in Earth Rights — though the county disputes that account.
County spokesperson Meagan Kascsak said in an email, "Brunswick County management and Public Utilities staff have met and corresponded with Mr. Carl Parker multiple times and received some general areas where he would like to see projects. Staff had already applied for grants for projects in a number of those areas like Albright and Brown Road (which would be part of the Bolivia Water Main Project) and Bellamy and Gore (already part of the Longwood Road Grant application)."
Now, Parker says county staff have told him they’re looking at three grants that might help. "To get a grant to bring lines down and hook it up to those houses free of charge," he said. "I want to make sure that they're free of charge so that they'll be able to get some clean drinking water.”
Kascsak says there's a reason the county has struggled to get grants — it's considered a Tier 3 County under the NC Department of Commerce’s County Distress Rankings. That means it's one of the 20 least economically distressed counties in the state — though that doesn't help the less affluent residents who aren't connected to the county's water and sewer systems yet.
Unfortunately, Kascsak added, "two grants that the County was awarded/due to be awarded—the Bolivia Water Line Extension Project and the Longwood Road Water Line Extension Project—have been de-funded in the proposed FY 2025 federal budget."
She added that the county will continue to apply for grants to provide water access to these residents. "Brunswick County management and Public Utilities staff have met and corresponded with Mr. Carl Parker multiple times and received some general areas where he would like to see projects. Staff had already applied for grants for projects in a number of those areas like Albright and Brown Road (which would be part of the Bolivia Water Main Project) and Bellamy and Gore (already part of the Longwood Road Grant application).
