City of Charleston presents water action plan to combat flooding

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — On Tuesday night, the City of Charleston unveiled its water action plan, focusing on the future of flooding in Charleston.

The plan focuses on flood risks from the rising sea levels to storm surge. Water Resources Engineer Jared Bramblett spent his last year collecting data and developing the plan.

“It was a lot of community engagement and going out into communities and talking to people and bringing that back in and envisioning and modeling building models to show demonstrate the flood risk and using that to inform what we recommended,” said Bramblett.

The crowd at the meeting was eager to hear how the city plans to mitigate the widespread problem in a city surrounded by water

“I’m from downtown Charleston and I certainly notice its always flooded but it’s getting worse but a lot of our friends suffer from a lot of flooding and driving and in their homes, so people want to feel there is some policy and progress moving towards solutions and this is a huge step towards that,” said Charleston resident Winslow Hastie.

Some major focuses of the plan include immediate action in low lying and traditionally underserved areas: as well as longer term solutions focused on more thoughtful development

“How we build in low areas is important we need to keep them out of flood zones and keep them out of flooded areas. We need to act now and invest overtime, its really important we move fast we need to come together and figure out funding,” said Bramblett.

Charleston Mayor William Cogswell says he believes the plan will set the city on the right track in the near term and for future generations

“We’re going to have a great document that will serve as a resource for future policy decisions and an educational tool on what can be done and look to the future when it comes to living with water,” said Mayor Cogswell.

To find out more about the city’s water plan you can visit here.