9 Years After 23 Residents Died In Catastrophic Flood, WV Officials Launching Study On Flood Mitigation On Kanawah River

Nearly a decade after the deadly 2016 floods, West Virginia officials are moving forward with a study to look at flood mitigation measures across the Kanawha River Basin. Last month, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that the state will work with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers on a study that thoroughly examines flood risk management strategies across 20 West Virginia counties, most of which were impacted by the June 2016 floods.

Morrisey’s announcement comes nearly four years after the study was initially funded by the federal government. West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito requested the study in 2016, following the deadly flooding that swept across the state and left 23 dead. Federal funding for the project was later secured in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

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But it will likely be awhile before any projects stemming from the two studies are executed. Both studies are anticipated to take three years, and there’s no guarantee funding for any potential projects will be immediately available. Capito did ensure that any project that comes out of the study of the Kanawha River Basin will only require a 10% state match — less than the typical 35%. The rest will be covered by the federal government.

Ed. - Emphasis added.

In 2004, after decades of devastating floods, West Virginia officials drew up a flood protection plan that proposed several actions, including suggestions on floodplain and wastewater management as well as improved building codes and flood warning systems. But it was never implemented by state agencies. Lawmakers revisited that plan in the aftermath of the 2016 floods and eventually tasked the State Resiliency Office, which they created in 2017, with updating the plan. In 2023, the Legislature designated a special trust fund to help the office protect communities, especially those with low-income households, from flooding as well as to implement recommendations from its updated state flood plan, which the office completed in June 2024. But lawmakers have never allocated money to that fund.

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https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/08/10/delayed-flood-study-funding/