MILTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — High water in Milton last weekend had residents again asking where's the floodwall that was promised 30 years ago?
It's been a long wait, but Del. Daniel Linville, (R) 22nd District, told Eyewitness News that state and local officials have secured the funding to make a floodwall a reality, but there are still a few hurdles.
"We're going to build a wall and it's going to be huge," he said.
The Milton Volunteer Fire Department estimates over a hundred homes flooded last weekend due to heavy rain. The department spent days dealing with the weekend's flooding -- deploying rafts for water rescue missions and providing supplies for clean-up efforts.
"From what I've gathered from some of the older folks around here, it's not the worst flood that Milton has ever seen," volunteer firefighter Jonathan Black said. "In the time that I've lived here, which 26 years -- I've lived here my whole life, it's the worst I've ever seen it."
Milton is particularly susceptible to flooding. It's something the Army Corps of Engineers has been trying to help the town with since 1993. Now, the project to put up the floodwall is finally on its feet.
"We have all the money we need is my understanding, and the Army Corps of Engineers has committed to me that we're going to finish this project," Linville said.
The project fell into Linville's lap when he was appointed to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2018 and then reelected in 2020. Since then, there have been some setbacks with securing funding being the largest one.
"Back in 2018, the state was not in near as good financial shape as we are now," Linville said.
The key was getting federal funding. With U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito as the ranking member of the committee responsible for the Water Resources Bill, the annual legislation included some language to provide more funding for the Milton project. That bill was signed by President Joe Biden this past December.
Now, the project is acquiring the property required to build the floodwall. After that, construction will take place, and is estimated to take about two years.
In the short term, the Milton Volunteer Fire Department is still providing cleaning supplies and Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization, is coming to Milton on Thursday to help with efforts free of charge.
"They're going to bring in 20-25 volunteers that will be available to muck out houses, clean up your yard, help cut out drywall, tear out flooring, and get that stuff out of your house that was affected by the flood," Black said.
Anyone who is interested in getting help from
Team Rubicon is asked to call Milton Volunteer Fire Department at 304-743-6319.