Winkler's Creek will be getting a face lift thanks to the North Carolina Rural Center. Senator Steve Goss and Representative Cullie Tarleton say that the center is giving a $500,000 grant to remove sedimentation near a water intake site on the creek. The intake is the town's primary intake site because of the drought. But due to the heavy rains this year, sedimentation accumulated and reduced the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the intake pool. With the restoration, the dam will provide access to about 12 million gallons on Winkler's Creek. Watauga County has also been granted over $30,000 dollars from the Water Capital Improvement program. This will examine the infrastructure of the area's water and sewer systems to improve efficiency.