§ 139-48.  Participation by cities, counties, industries and others.

(a) Any industry, or private water user, the State of North Carolina, the United States or any of its agencies, any county, municipality or any other political subdivision may participate in watershed improvement works or projects upon mutually agreeable terms relating to such matters as the construction, financing, maintenance and operation thereof.

(b) Any county or municipality may contribute funds toward the construction, maintenance and operation of watershed improvement works or projects, to the extent that such works or projects:

(1) Provide a source (respectively) of county or municipal water supply; or protect an existing source of such supply, enhance its quality or increase its dependable capacity or quantity; or

(2) Protect against or alleviate the effects of flood-water or sediment damages affecting, or provide drainage benefits for, (respectively) county or municipally owned property or the property (respectively) of county or municipal inhabitants located outside the boundaries of such works or projects but within the respective boundaries of such county or municipality.

Each county and city may fund appropriations for the purposes of this section by levy of property taxes pursuant to G.S. 153A-149 and G.S. 160A-209 and by the allocation of other revenues whose use is not otherwise restricted by law. (1959, c. 781, s. 8; 1973, c. 803, s. 33; 1993, c. 391, ss. 22, 32.)