West Side flooding: a $130 million problem

More than 70 people gathered at Nichols Chapel in Charleston's West Side neighborhood this afternoon to learn about the city's $130 million plan to eliminate persistent flooding in the area, and to press for more government funding for the initiative.

When there are big storms, as there were last week, residents of the area often find their cars partially submerged in knee-deep water, which they must sometimes wade through.

"We need help," President Street resident Mamie Poole told City Councilman Wendell Gilliard and U.S. Rep. Henry Brown.

Charleston has already spent $5 million for engineering work, preparing a solution for a huge area known as the Spring/Fishburne Drainage Basin, which covers about 20 percent of the peninsula including a section of the Crosstown Expressway.

"Our next big challenge is funding this project," said Laura Cabiness, director of the city's Public Service Department. "If we had the money, we could start next year."

So far, the federal government has provided just $150,000 for the initiative.

Brown said $4 million for the project was authorized by Congress last year, but the money was not appropriated, which means the city won't be getting the funds.

The city has argued that the federally owned Crosstown Expressway is partially responsible for the flooding, and has argued the federal government should help fix the problem

Also, the flooding can block the expressway, which is a main route to the city's hospitals and a hurricane evacuation route.

"Since construction (of the highway) back in 1968 the flooding has increased on an unprecedented scale," said Gilliard, who organized the meeting.

Charleston has a property tax dedicated to stormwater projects, a $6 monthly fee attached to all residential water bills, and a larger fee for commercial property. Those taxes and fees raise $5.5 million yearly, about $2.2 million of which is available for big improvement projects, according to Cabiness.

She said that if the city were to attempt to fund the Spring/Fishburne project on its own, with a 20-year bond issue, the city would need $8 million each year for that project alone.