David Rouzer's "WATERS Summit:" Brunswick and New Hanover County Democratic Parties' press statement

JOINT STATEMENT:

SHELLEY ALLEN, CHAIR, BRUNSWICK COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY

JILL HOPMAN, CHAIR, NEW HANOVER COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY

November 11, 2025

CONTACT: Arthur Hill

Rep. David Rouzer (NC Seventh Congressional District) is scheduled to attend a “WATERS Summit” in Wilmington on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. to review the impact of coastal flooding on agriculture in the Cape Fear region. The summit will take place in Daniels Hall at Cape Fear Community College but is not open to the public.

Sadly, we’re not surprised Rouzer’s supposedly “bipartisan” meeting will be behind closed doors. Nor are we surprised that our congressman is once again ducking his constituents vs. facing them in a public forum – a setting he has managed to avoid since 2017.

If he’s listening, we want to remind Rouzer that the flooding our region has endured over the past few years is impacting not only farmers in our area. People throughout his district have experienced new levels of flooding, especially in Brunswick County, Wilmington neighborhoods and other urban areas along the Cape Fear River.

Furthermore, much of the damage and pollution that result from the unusual flooding in our area are caused by uncommonly strong natural disasters like Hurricane Florence in 2018 and Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 in 2024. Experts report such storms are made more powerful by the climate change Rouzer and his party seem content to ignore. 

Is it not hypocritical that Rouzer is now appearing to be mindful of the problems that exist with flooding because he and his party have failed to deal with the underlying issue that has caused the flooding? Is there an election coming up?

But flooding isn’t the only water-related issue with serious consequences in Rep. Rouzer’s district. High on our list is PFAS contamination, which has permeated our water sources and threatened the health of our citizens. Once again, Rouzer has shown little or no interest in the issue. If he was concerned, he would have fought against the Trump Administration’s gutting of EPA regulations to correct the damage caused by the uncontrolled release of PFAS by the Chemours company into our waterways.

Beyond the PFAS issue, clean water in many areas of our community remains unattainable. With virtually no help from our elected officials – especially in Brunswick County – residents whose only access to water may be a contaminated well need help hooking their homes up to county water lines that residents in more affluent areas routinely enjoy. Why isn’t Rep. Rouzer working with federal, state and local officials to help these citizens?

Water is life. Flood control is not the only water-related issue in our area. Clean, reliable and environmentally safe water across our region should be a number one priority. It deserves far more attention from our elected officials – more than hollow deliberations behind closed doors.

---

Update: The House of Representatives returned to Washington on Tuesday, so it is unlikely that Rep. Rouzer (or Rep. Murphy) will be present at the summit tomorrow.