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more help is on the way to Western North Carolina this time in the form of funding President Biden set to sign a bill that hopes to prevent future flooding disasters now we've all seen the devastation Left Behind from Helen and now both the House and Senate have passed a bill called The Water Resources development act now the goal of this legislation upgrade water systems and improve Dam safety the congressman Chuck Edwards was behind the three of those bills included in the ACT he says some huge relief is on the way for areas especially Canton more than $41 million is headed to Canton for flood mitigation along the Pigeon River and that river is to blame for the tragic flood of 2021 and flooding from Helen Weaverville will also benefit by getting Millions for a water plant expansion and for more on this potential help we sat down with Congressman Edwards oneon-one well Congressman thank you so much for your time I think looking at this legislation the main thing that stands out first and foremost is the $41 million for flood mitigation among the Pigeon River in Canton that's a community that has been devastated by floods in 2021 and then again by Helen that 41 million what do you hope it does for those people there in K ultimately well ultimately I'm uh hope hoping that we can mitigate the potential of future floods by extending the river banks removing Boulders removing debris uh changing Riverbanks where we feel we need to change river banks Banks uh we may even have to rebuild a couple of bridges to allow better flow through the Pigeon River because this small rural community where I was raised by the way has been devastated by floods a number of times when you look at this kind of legislation it it seems like yes we need to have a lot of relief from Helen funds on the way FEMA on the ground resources on the ground but what it comes to this what's the long-term picture is because we don't want another we don't want another 2021 so how important is legislation like this that prevents future disasters well it's my job here in Washington DC to fight for every dollar that I can get uh for Western North Carolina and communities like Western North Carolina so when you look at this kind of uh difference the SPL you said fight for every dollar we know canton's going to benefit with the 41 million we know we Ville will get 4 million for water plant expansion and then also you're pushing for more Dam safety how are you able to decide what communities get what and what issues are addressed well uh these programs uh outside of what is directed specifically uh to Western North Carolina are programs that are funded where uh communities and states can make applications for Grants uh and uh the national Dam safety program Amendment act uh changes the threshold of the match uh for some of the smaller and lower income communities we look at this this damn safety uh we we've got a lot of dams you mentioned nearly 92,000 dams that serve critical functions across our nation uh here in the upstate we're even dealing with issues when it comes to protecting dams making sure there's plenty of safety there um how crucial is it that that this sort of checks and balances are now in place that you're able to get pushed through that protects and make sure that these dams are stable well I think that we need to recognize that the uh Association of American society of civil engineers has raided Dam safety in America a d and with that comes an enormous amount of risk uh because these dams have not been taken care of for decades uh and and the the risk that comes along with that lack of maintenance is that property and homes and businesses Downstream of those dams could very easily be destroyed if not taken care of I think lastly here what would be your message to to the people there in your community in Western North Carolina as they continue to recover from Helen and now we have Christmas and the holidays right around the corner yeah well first of all I just encourage everyone out there to take note of the special line into my office 223 fix FEMA uh for anyone that uh is having trouble getting shelter or if you know anyone that's uh still having a tough time finding safe warm dry shelter call 223 fix FEMA you'll be loog logged directly into my office I think that's important because we hear so many stories out there now still of folks that might might still need some help uh my other message would be uh right now here in Washington DC we're working on a disaster supplemental to bring the funding back to Western North Carolina uh that is very much needed for us to recover you know it's a long road ahead for a lot of people so Congressman we appreciate your work appreciate your time thank you all right thank you now again here's another look at that line that you can call we know it's important we know a lot of people still need some help so that line that the congressman just mentioned have it there at the bottom of your screen that's 223 fix FEMA again as he said it'll go straight to his office there so that way you and your loved ones can get the help that you need