Posted on September 7, 2026
Dare County officials are working with state and federal agencies to deploy pumps more quickly when floodwater remains on N.C. Highway 12 on Pea Island, following concerns that pumping should have begun sooner during a prolonged closure in July.
County Manager Bobby Outten provided an update during the commissioners’ business portion of the Dare County Board of Commissioners’ Sept. 1 meeting. The discussion followed an Aug. 18 community meeting at the Fessenden Center in Buxton about the July 22 rain event that closed N.C. 12 on Pea Island for roughly six hours.
More than a foot of water covered sections of the highway between the Marc Basnight Bridge and the Pea Island Visitor Center during the July event, and inches of water lingered after the road was reopened for days. At the August community meeting, NCDOT officials said the rainfall and resulting closure were highly unusual and acknowledged that they had not expected the water to remain as long as it did.
Officials said at that time that they were discussing whether pumps could be used during future events involving prolonged standing water.
Commissioner Ervin Bateman returned to the subject Sept. 1, asking Outten what the county had learned about obtaining permits and deploying pumps on short notice.
Outten said the county had since spoken with the N.C. Department of Transportation, National Park Service, and N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
NCDOT is prepared to cooperate, Outten said. National Park Service officials indicated that permits could be issued quickly because the water would need to be pumped toward the ocean, while state environmental regulators said they could also act promptly during an emergency.
The county must still consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the discharge pipe would cross land under that agency’s jurisdiction on Pea Island.
“I wouldn’t expect that to be a problem, but I have not had a conversation with them yet about that,” Outten said.
County and state officials had previously coordinated with the Fish and Wildlife Service to reopen or improve drainage pathways after the July flooding. Outten’s Sept. 1 comments referred specifically to the additional coordination that would be required to place a pumping pipe across federal property.
“I think that the answer to the question is we can do that, understanding that it takes some amount of time to get the pumps there [and set them up],” Outten said.
Large-capacity pumps may require lane closures and traffic-control measures, he added. They also cannot operate effectively after standing water falls below approximately 4 inches because the intake hose can no longer maintain sufficient suction.
Outten said officials must weigh the time required to secure equipment and establish a pumping operation against the possibility that the water will recede naturally. During some past flooding events, water drained within about a day, making pumping unnecessary.
That did not happen following the July 22 rainfall.
“This last time, it clearly didn’t move off of there for a long time, and pumping should have been done earlier,” Outten said.
Outten said NCDOT initially decided to wait for the water to dissipate, but it remained longer than the agency expected. He said officials learned from the experience and that the county is prepared to assist with pumping during a similar future event.
Chairman Bob Woodard urged county staff to determine how the equipment and permits could be arranged more quickly.
“Figure it out to make it work quickly, Bobby,” Woodard said. “We don’t need [the water] to sit around for days.”
The discussion did not result in a formal vote or the adoption of any formal resolutions.
Later in the meeting, Commissioner Mary Ellon Ballance provided a separate update about drainage problems in Hatteras Village following recent heavy rains.
Ballance said most of the village drainage system was functioning properly, but a section near Sonny’s Restaurant and Willis Boat Landing was badly clogged.
She said officials had identified the area causing the problem and were working to address it.
During the commissioners’ business part of the meeting, Ballance also said she planned to follow up with officials about crosswalk concerns in Hatteras Village, particularly in areas with substantial pedestrian activity after dark.
