Waterway debris removal continues in Watauga County, North Carolina. So far more than 370,000 cubic yards of debris left by the hurricane have been removed since late February 2025.
Will Brandt, Quality Assurance Supervisor for the Watauga waterway debris mission, said waterway debris can consist of a wide variety of types of items.
“The portion that I've been involved in for the watery debris removal is truly about going into the active waterways that the state has identified that we're allowed to enter and clearing debris to help the local public,” he said. “That would be any flood debris in the flood plain, construction debris—like wood, housing materials, refrigerators, propane tanks, cars—anything that came apart and came into the floodplain area we would remove it.”
Debris teams continue to collect debris daily in the county before dropping off materials at one of two Temporary Debris Management Sites in the county.
“Those are where debris is processed and stored before final disposal. We have “chippers” there that allow wood debris to be mulched down before going to landfills for topping off,’ Brandt explained.
Brandt said he has found the mission there to be personally satisfying for several reasons.
“I hope we've helping the community; I know most people have been very positive about wanting our help,” he said. “Sometimes it would be wonderful if we could do more, but we have certain mission parameters that we must stay within, that we're authorized to perform, and because of that we must stay within those boundaries.”
“I hope they can recognize and see that we came in to help them in their time of need—that they can see from an economic standpoint via tourism—the waterways are cleared, and it will help them prosper in the future. For the homeowners, to see that there's not excessive debris that they personally have to remove, that we're helping them move on to the next step,” he added.
Helping those in the local communities has also benefitted Brandt in a personal way.
“A big thing that I take away from this deployment is a sense service to the nation. When I joined the Corps of Engineers, I left the private sector because I wanted to be connected to the military and to be able to give back,” Brandt said. “These types of missions allow me, and all of the volunteers working missions, to do just that.”
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