The South Carolina Office of Resilience joined the City of Isle of Palms and project partner Thomas & Hutton on Tuesday, 3 September for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the newly constructed drainage outfall on 41st Avenue. The ceremony marks completion of Phase III construction of the Isle of Palms Stormwater Infrastructure project. Funded in part through a US Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant—Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) and the City, the project improves stormwater drainage by funneling water off the roadway through new drainage pipes.

Isle of Palms Mayor Philip Pounds commented on the need for this new drainage system by highlighting a fire station on the avenue. Prior to the system’s installation, the fire station would flood during periods of heavy rainfall. This would cause the responders working in the station to stage their trucks and equipment in a separate location when flooding was possible. However, the new system was put to use during August when Tropical Storm Debby produced roughly ten inches of rainfall on the island. City officials noted the absence of standing water on 41st Avenue, indicating the system was functioning as designed.

The project on 41st Avenue restored a drainage ditch while adding new stormwater pipes and included a set of check valves. These valves allow stormwater to flow into the intracoastal waterway and can be sealed to prevent the waterway from flooding the system during high tides. In addition to these valves, Phase III also included new outfalls on 30th and 36th Avenues, although these were funded from sources other than SCOR.

This project is among the 44 stormwater mitigation infrastructure projects that SCOR manages across South Carolina. With the goal of reducing future flooding risks, the Mitigation Department’s stormwater management projects range from traditional stormwater drainage systems like pipes and inlets to nature-based drainage improvements like stream and floodplain restorations. To date, SCOR has committed $100 million in CDBG-MIT funds—and $95 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds—to stormwater infrastructure and hazard mitigation projects.