NCLM Volume 71, Issue 1, 2021

NCLM.ORG 27 Regionalization What is happening in the town of 1,700 may offer a model for other financially struggling rural water and sewer systems. SCOTT MOONEYHAM NCLM Director of Political Communication & Coordination The Town of Bethel may soon be out of the water and sewer business. If so, it’s an arrangement that has the potential to benefit the town, its residents and facilitate future growth. And it could do so without placing any additional burden on the other local govern- ment that is making it possible: the City of Greenville. For more than a year, Bethel has been working with Greenville and the state Division of Water Infrastructure to merge its water and sewer utilities into those of the Greenville Utilities Commis- sion. And recent actions at the state level, along with $4.5 million in grant funding, have helped make the plan possible. What is happening in the Pitt County town of about 1,700 may offer a model for other rural water and sewer systems as they too face financial struggles created, in part, by declining populations and job loss, even as many of them look to redefine their local economies by leveraging local assets and natural resources at their disposal. “I know there are other communities going through this. This will be a blessing for our community,” said Bethel Mayor Gloristine Brown. “I’m not expecting us to be a Greenville, but we can be a bedroom community with amenities that people want.” The financial struggles of water and sewer systems operated by rural towns have become one of the biggest hurdles that local officials face as they look to remake local economies in the face of manufacturing and agriculture job losses. It’s a story that has gained increasing public attention, especially after the state Local Government Commission took over financial operations in the Town of Eureka after its utility system became unable to meet financial obligations. Eureka’s challenges and others like it caused the North Carolina General Assembly in 2020 to approve the creation of a Viable Utility Fund. That legislation, along with subsequent work by the state Division of Water Infrastructure, set up a framework to continues on page 28