Residents like meteorologist Neil Dixon of the National Weather Service are extremely concerned — but not surprised — that Charleston is seeing more and more flooded streets and homes, even when a hurricane isn’t part of the equation. Sea level rise, fill and build construction, and more development closer to the water are all playing a role, according to Dixon. Groundswell Charleston is a grassroots group of flood victims formed after Tropical Storm Irma in 2017, many of whom sustained repeated flooding damage for three years in a row. They see their quality of life being destroyed through diminished property values, exorbitant recovery costs, and prohibitive flood insurance premiums – not to mention the unquantifiable human toll. The group has two main objectives: work with the city to develop and implement immediate short-term flood-abatement tactics and develop and fund long-term mitigation strategies. As well, they connect residents with guidance on insurance issues, FEMA regulations, buyout programs, and raising homes.
Flooding in Charleston. Photo: Groundswell Charleston
Susan Lyons founded Groundswell Charleston, an advocacy group of some 300 homeowners, to encourage the city to prioritize flood mitigation and provide information about flooding to the community. Pressure from flood survivor groups like Groundswell Charleston led the SC legislature to pass a bill in 2020 allowing hospitality taxes to fund flooding mitigation projects. As well, the Charleston mayor proclaimed flooding abatement and drainage mitigation the top priorities for his administration. Current topics of Groundswell Charleston’s public meetings include green technology to manage flooding and a controversial proposal by the Army Corps of Engineers that would encircle the historic peninsula with an eight-mile seawall and build a 4,000-foot wave attenuating structure in Charleston harbor. As Groundswell Charleston member Mark Bloom said in a Post and Courier Op-Ed piece, action on flood mitigation can’t happen soon enough, “Charleston is waiting. The Atlantic is not.”
Groundswell Charleston