CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Some eastern Horry County residents living near the proposed site of a large housing development say they’re worried building more than 1,000 homes could make flooding worse.
However, the county says the development could handle the stormwater.
Several inches of rain dumped on Loris Monday. About 15 minutes away, several residents near Longs are worried a proposed development of nearly 1,300 single- and multi-family units could cause more flooding.
Here’s what some told Horry County’s planning commission earlier in May.
“When (Hurricane) Matthew stopped by, everything out there flooded,” said Roy Teed, who lives near the proposed development site.
“You’ve got two bodies of water, a lot of wetlands around all of these communities, including Arbor Glen,” said Sandra Durant, who also lives near the proposed development site.
They spoke against the development off South Carolina Highway 905 and Old Buck Creek Road. The project’s engineering firm says dozens of ponds throughout the 565 acres will properly keep in the rain.
Horry County’s stormwater manager Tom Garigen says the proposal goes beyond the county’s minimum requirements and is far enough away from the Waccamaw River.
“You’ve got the Buck Creek canal, which is a major watershed canal up in that area that the county maintains,” Garigen said. “This project, in that area of the canal, is far enough away from the river, where we’ve seen a lot of flooding in the past.”
Phil DelCostello lives in Arbor Glen, a newer neighborhood near the proposed development site.
He says he supports the development, as long as the county makes sure there are enough retention ponds.
“I don’t think we should be the only people to live out here in this beautiful country out here,” DelCostello said.
Horry County’s planning commission briefly talked about the proposal at a workshop Thursday afternoon.
The commission will hold a public hearing about the project next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Conway.