Will Our Government Solve The Flooding?

Many of us know families who were dramatically affected by the extreme flooding events of Aug. 31 and Oct. 3 this year.  The floods caused tens of millions of dollars in damages to homes, businesses and vehicles.  Thousands of people were unable to travel the flooded roads to get to work or to school.  Hundreds of people are still unable to live in their homes or are living in substandard conditions.  People are looking to local government to come up with solutions to prevent further flooding events of this magnitude.
Charleston City Councilman Dean Riegel and Charleston County Councilman Vic Rawle, who both represent the affected homeowners in Shadowmoss, Village Green, Hickory Hills and Hickory Farms, set up a meeting at Drayton Hall Elementary to connect homeowners with government employees to learn about what is being done to fix the drainage systems.  Many of the estimated 200 who attended left without satisfactory answers.
As I have mentioned in previous columns, the decision of local governments to allow subdivisions to be built on wetlands was not prudent.  Filling in wetlands and replacing them with pavement and homes was a recipe for disaster.  Now there is concern about how the Bees Ferry Rd. widening project and the West Ashley Circle, which circumvents the intersection of Glenn McConnell Pkwy and Bees Ferry Rd., is making the flooding worse.
The Bees Ferry Road widening project was approved in 2009 for obvious reasons.  The thousands of new homes being built in Grand Oaks, Hunt Club, Bolton’s Landing and Carolina Bay created a traffic congestion nightmare.  However, the 4-lane highway was built without an adequate storm drainage upgrade.  Construction on the West Ashley Circle began in July 2014 and was expected to be completed by Sept. of this year.  It cut through wetlands and is already paved, including 8 ft. wide sidewalks. Councilman Riegel tells me that the hydrology (soil conditions) along the circle have changed since it was paved and will require new permitting from the Office of Coastal Resources Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before it can be opened.
The most disappointing thing about the public meeting at Drayton Hall Elementary from my perspective (and many others I spoke with) was the flippant attitude by the government employees.  Laura Cabiness, the City Director of Public Service (really?) gave an overview of the developments within the 5000 acre Church Creek Drainage Basin (which drains into the Ashley River) and conveyed the attitude that “there is nothing we can do” about the drainage problems in the basin.  She told the crowd, “We’re doing all we can do and giving it more scrutiny than any other drainage basin in the area.”  She offered no solutions for upgrading the drainage systems.
Hickory Farms resident Rod Rutledge, who has sustained significant damage to his property and remains displaced, noted that he has been communicating with government officials about the drainage problems for more than 2 1/2 years without receiving an adequate response.  He said, “Water flow increased at the start of the Bees Ferry widening project.  You can’t pave over wetlands and not expect flooding incidents to increase.”  The pastor at Cross Towne Church on Bees Ferry noted similar observations and lack of feedback.
Another resident revealed that a drain pipe from the West Ashley Circle was discharging water directly into Grand Oaks and Hickory Farms.  Steve Thigpen, County Director of Transportation and Development, said the remedy was filling the drain pipe with sandbags and digging a ditch inside the circle to collect the runoff.  He also mentioned that the circle remains clogged with construction debris.  Who was responsible for supervising the project?
One of the remedies suggested for the homeowners who sustained significant damage (including everyone within the Bridge Pointe condominium development in Shadowmoss) was to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) home buyback program.  FEMA would have to declare the homes uninhabitable and the homeowners would be paid “fair market value” for their property.  Many homeowners questioned whether “fair market value” would be the appraised value before the floods or after the floods.  Since FEMA is a federal agency, homeowners interested in the buyback option should consider contacting Rep. Mark Sanford’s office at 202-225-3176.
Charles Towne, another Hickory Farms resident, expressed concerns over future development in the permitted Long Savannah subdivision, located north of Grand Oaks.  Ms. Cabiness stated that most of the subdivision drained into Rantowles Creek. When pressed, she couldn’t estimate how the development would affect the Church Creek Basin.  Engineers also could not predict how development inside and along West Ashley Circle would impact drainage.  Townes and many others in the crowd called for a moratorium on new development along the Bees Ferry Rd. corridor.
Mayor-elect John Tecklenburg takes office on Jan. 11.  It is essential for him to meet with City and County elected officials representing West Ashley and come up with a drainage action plan.  For starters, we need to remove silt and debris from storm drains, pipes, culverts and ditches.  The drainage canal which flows under Bees Ferry Rd. and the CSX Railroad tracks must be deepened.  Let’s hold off new development until we have the drainage upgrade in place to protect property.  Taxpayers deserve more than the statement that “there is nothing we can do.”.
John Steinberger is the former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party, a leading Fair Tax advocate, and a West Ashley resident. He can be reached at John.steinberger@scfairtax.org.