Charleston city leaders working to fight flooding in the Rosemont Community
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The City of Charleston is working to fight flooding, especially within a community on the upper Peninsula. City leaders say the Rosemont Community is an area that needs help with storm surge and heavy rain impacts, and now a Lowcountry non-profit is stepping in to help.
The Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC) is awarding a $35,000 grant to the community to help put together a resiliency plan for flooding and storm surges.
“We started identifying resources and tools in which we can help begin a resiliency plan for Rosemont,” says Omar Muhammad, the Executive Director of LAMC.
Muhammad says this area has been prone to flooding for the last 50 to 80 years, due to its location on the upper Peninsula.
“This navigates how to address some of the quality-of-life concerns, and flooding is one of those concerns,” says Muhammad.
The community is impacted by the billion-dollar “Sea Wall” project, but that’s just one of the plans to help the community.
“They have rainfall risks, groundwater risks that we are starting to see. They have a number of problems out there. The Army Corps of Engineers is mainly with storm surge, so we want to explore with them,” says Dale Morris, the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Charleston.
City leaders say these plans could possibly raise the foundation of the houses 12 feet to match the height of the seawall.
“In theory, that provides the same level of protection. However, elevating a home is more of a challenge for the individual homeowner or resident,” says Morris.
Muhammad says he hopes these plans not only bring flooding improvements for the community but the quality of life improvements for residents.
“Being able to look at green infrastructure in the community, resolve some of the road networks, and what is contributing to the flood,” says Muhammad.
Charleston city leaders are meeting with residents Tuesday, March 15 at the Rosemont Community Center to hear their input on these plans.
