Residents from St. Anthony Drive in Florence have experienced severe damage to their homes due to flooding. With hopes of finding a solution, they gathered at City Hall to speak with officials about the problem.
But, they were told the problem isn’t only in their area. According to City Manager, Drew Griffin, flooding is a problem all throughout the state.
“Every city in South Carolina is facing this same dilemma. Whether it’s Charleston, or Columbia, or Greenville or Augusta. We’re all seeing more rains and harder rains. It is an incredibly expensive fix,” Griffin said.
The fix could range from $500,000 to $1million. In order to get the funds, officials think they would need to raise the storm water utility fees each month. But, the idea is not set in stone.
“With the will of the community and the blessing of council to create fees to start fixing and replacing some water systems that will certainly help. And at the end of the day, that is the only solution,” he said.
St. Anthony Drive is a very flat area Griffin added. The city met with the neighborhood residents on two previous occasions where they discussed the land in that area and on why it causes consistent storm damage.
One way Griffin thinks the problem can decrease is by picking up pine needles. By scraping them off the catch bases, residents can help prevent destruction of the storm water system.
With no solid answers to their problems, St. Anthony residents told me they are unsure what the future holds for them.
“The biggest thing is, I need some help. We all do. I mean, I can’t sell the house and we’re stuck” said Mark Allen who has lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years.
