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So I'm SET on relocating to The Charleston Area from Long Island New York. Mostly like about 1 year from now. Although I'm not going to be purchasing a house for the first year or so I was wondering if flooding is something that is a constant worry in The Western Suburbs of Charleston? I'm talking about West Ashley and more North towards Summerville. Is it a Major issue or just happens once in a while?? Does one have to worry about their commute because of it??
It is a once in a while occurrence in specific areas. One neighborhood flooded several times and the homes were then bought and demolished or will be. Do your research on where the flooding has occurred and avoid purchasing in low-lying areas, but in general we’re not talking about a way of life for large portions of West Ashley. Certain parts of the peninsula surrounding downtown and in the MUSC medical district are where commuters into downtown run into problems during big rains, especially at high tide. Be aware and do your due diligence and you’l be fine. Flooding resolution and mitigation are at the top of the City’s agenda in the form of millions being spent to improve drainage and plans for hundreds of millions with federal assistance to be spent as soon as possible in response to sea level rise. Also, the City is in the process up updating its zoning code, as all cities are required to do, to include directing new construction to the highest areas, following the realization that neighborhoods have been built in areas that would not get approval if the pending zoning update had predated them. Charleston is following the Dutch approach to flooding mitigation with plans to embrace and accommodate water as much as to block it.
To add to Charlestondata's reply, it's important to know that flooding should be assessed on a house by house basis. Some parts of a neighborhood might flood while others are high and dry and in fact two houses side by side might have very different flooding potential.
We have two sources of flooding here in Charleston... flooding from tidal surge and from rainfall. In deeper West Ashley and going up to Summerville, it's rainfall that you'll need to be concerned with. Tidal surge and rainfall are both factors in Peninsular Charleston and areas closer to the ocean. It's not a constant worry but it is becoming more frequent.
I live around 150 yards from the Ashley River, never flooded. My aunt has live 100 ft from the Ashley River for 50 years, never flooded. Folks in Shadowmoss where a small creek runs behind their property flooded so bad FEMA tore down the houses. It's very hit and miss. A lot of our creeks aren't dredged and this can lead to flooding as the creek bottoms fill up with sand and debris and there's nowhere for that water to go. This is a big problem right now with Turkey Creek over in Hanahan. Part of any money spent to remedy our flooding problem should always consider dredging our main waterways and creeks in my opinion.
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