SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) – Those who live in Surfside say the rain isn’t just an inconvenience on the day it rains. They say the rain sticks around long after the sun comes back out.
There’s already standing water at Jorge Fuentes house on 3rd Avenue North. He said the latest tropical storm that’s out there, won’t be good for his home.
“I’m thinking that the downstairs is going to get flooded again.”
Fuentes said again because every time it rains, he said draining is a problem.
“It goes downstairs instead of going to the drainage system so it stays down there for a while.”
The problem isn’t just limited to draining, there’s also concerns for mold.
“We have to open the doors downstairs once it stops raining and kind of let the air dry it out.”
Several neighbors on the street also could attest to the problem. I asked Surfside Beach mayor Bob Childs what the city is doing about it.
“We are going to fix it as soon as the funds are available.”
I also asked what that timeline would look like.
“It’s ongoing. You know it’ll probably be going on long when you and I are gone. The storm water issues never stop.”
Right now, the biggest delay is money.
“When you do storm water projects they’re not small amounts of money they run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Since the city of Surfside Beach doesn’t have that kind of budget, residents can expect to start paying a storm water impact fee sooner than later.
“Residential is probably less than $100 a year per household as far as I can figure out which is not a lot considering the benefits you get from that.”
Fuentes says if the extra money could fix that problem, he’s all for it.
“Why not? Everyone that lives here that stays living here all year round I think they would much rather put their money to good use like that.”
Part of a new system was put in Surfside Beach last year. The issue is that the drainage system isn’t big enough and can’t be extended until more funds are available.
