City of Florence, SC – The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR), in partnership with the City of Florence, is proud to announce the City of Florence Pennsylvania Street Stormwater Mitigation Project began construction on the week of July 28, 2025. Over the next 5-7 months, crews will install multiple stormwater infrastructure improvements along Pennsylvania, Coit, Preston, Lawson, and West Sumter Streets.

SCOR awarded $5.1 million to the City of Florence through its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Stormwater Infrastructure Program for construction. These state and local fiscal recovery funds are awarded to counties, cities, and towns to carry out stormwater infrastructure improvements. The City of Florence, as a subrecipient, is responsible for day-to-day project management and is contributing a local cost share of approximately $1 million.

“The City of Florence has done significant work to determine the causes of flooding and identify mitigation solutions,” says Representative Terry Alexander, District 59. “I am proud to see this partnership between the City and Office of Resilience brining these solutions to fruition.”

According to the City’s application, Historic West Florence in the Pennsylvania Street watershed experiences localized flooding, contributed to outdated and failing infrastructure, including broken, blocked, and undersized pipes, as well as a deteriorated detention pond.

“We’re incredibly grateful to the South Carolina Office of Resilience for this significant investment in the City of Florence,” said City Manager Scotty Davis. “This grant will allow us to address longstanding flooding issues in Historic West Florence, improving the quality of life for residents and ensuring safer, more resilient infrastructure for years to come. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this project will bring to the community.” 

The project’s scope of work includes replacement and upsizing of nearly 1,300 linear feet of pipe, and 2,380 linear feet of storm drainage enhancements. Additionally, 39 new drainage boxes will be installed on site.

“The City identified that nearly three quarters of the project service area’s residents who will see benefits are considered low- to moderate-income. Furthermore, these stormwater enhancements will improve mobility for residents and first responders along three local arterial roads,” explains SC Chief Resilience Officer Ben Duncan. “Beyond a project’s ability to reduce the quantity and severity of flood hazard risks in a community, we also look at co-benefits.” 

“This is a win for Florence because these improvements will not just benefit residents along the streets with construction, but also those located in the greater watershed area,” explains Senator Kent Williams, District 30.

To date, SCOR has committed approximately $65 million in ARPA Stormwater Infrastructure Program funds for improvements across South Carolina.

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About SCOR: The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) is committed to enhancing the state's ability to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when presented with environmental changes and natural hazards by planning and coordinating statewide resilience, long-term disaster recovery, and hazard mitigation. In addition to serving 3,459 homes in our Disaster Recovery Program, SCOR has 81 active flood mitigation projects, including voluntary buyouts, stormwater infrastructure, and plans and studies, across the State. SCOR continues to implement and maintain the Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan, which provides a framework to guide investment in projects, programs, and policies to protect the people and property of South Carolina from the damage and destruction of extreme weather events.