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After years of public pressure, the County is submitting two grant applications to extend water lines to historically Black neighborhoods.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 9, 2025 – The Brunswick County chapter of the NAACP and EarthRights International welcome the recent news that the Brunswick County local government is submitting grant applications to secure the necessary funding for the extension of water lines to two historically Black neighborhoods. Access to clean, safe drinking water is a fundamental human right and the community has been asking the Board of Commissioners to address this issue for 22 years.
“I trust County Manager Steve Stone and the County Commissioners will deliver on his commitment to do right by our neighbors of Albright/Brown Road and Mulberry Road,” said Brunswick County NAACP President Carl Parker. “For too long many of our Black residents have lived without access to County water, relying on dirty well water or expensive bottled water. This is just unacceptable.”
After many years of continued advocacy and public pressure, the County has agreed to apply for a federal grant for the Albright/Brown Road neighborhood and a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) grant for the Mulberry Road neighborhood. These neighborhoods, along with two others, were identified by the NAACP and EarthRights as critical areas for water access. While we submitted formal requests for four neighborhoods that lack access to County water, there are many others that must be surveyed and planned for, and the County must take steps to ensure comprehensive planning for water access.
“This is an important first step but much remains to be done to ensure that everyone who wants County water in Brunswick County, one of the wealthiest counties in North Carolina, has access to it,” said U.S. EarthRights Campaigns Officer Audrey Schreiber. “We will continue to stand alongside residents who for too long have seen the County and developers prioritize water line extension projects for new developments while their neighborhoods remain without water lines and their families forced to consume well water that smells foul, dyes their hair and clothing orange, has sediment in it, and tests for PFAS or other contaminants. Clean water is a dignity and a human right that must be afforded to all people.”
Residents of the two neighborhoods identified for grant application this year welcomed the news and the prospect of finally having running County water: ”We are grateful they are taking this first step, but we need a timeline so that we are not waiting around another 22 years for clean, safe water,” said residents of Mulberry Road and Albright/Brown Road.
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Additional Resources
Read our explainer on ongoing advocacy efforts and communication with the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners. This explainer includes the maps of areas submitted to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners.
Media Contact:
Daniela Colaiacovo, Director of Communications, EarthRights International
daniela.colaiacovo@earthrights.org, (703) 975-0608
