Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina The town of Sullivan’s Island is striving to mitigate the effects of flooding, including projects in the works and a research that forecasts sea level rise and proposes strategies to counteract it.
Mayor Patrick O’Neill said Sullivans Island’s stormwater system is no longer a pipe dream.
“This is the exciting beginning to a project that’s been years in the making,” he told CNN.
The existing storm drain system is failing, resulting in flooding.
“We’re going to remove and replace some of the existing storm drains and install new ones,” Golf Stream Construction Senior Project Manager Cam Cooper said.
Crews are preparing to add enormous pipes, beginning with Stations 28.5 and 31. O’Neill stated that the pipelines will facilitate the collection and movement of rainwater to the marsh. That is one of numerous flood-related projects that the town has prioritized.
On Tuesday, the town council will consider a sea level adaptation and resilience strategy that focuses on natural solutions.
“What we’re really trying to do with these practices is mimic predevelopment hydrology, so water flows across the land like it did before we built on it,” Weston & Sampson Team Leader Kim Morganello explained.
The study will offer ten adaption techniques, including the redesign of Middle Street, the island’s major route. Researchers investigated where street-level rain gardens could be created and where permeable parking would be feasible.
The study also examined open space across the island, and researchers identified 33 specific places where nature-based solutions may be implemented. One of the projects is already underway: a rain garden will be installed at Sullivans Island Elementary School.
Morganello stated that the plan will act as a handbook for the community to use as it anticipates increases in high tides and storms through 2050. Researchers used a model to explore what the island’s future would look like.
“We boosted the title storm search value to nearly two feet to simulate what it would be like in 2050. We also increased the depth of rainfall to replicate stronger, more frequent, and more powerful storms,” stated Lucas Hernandez, Senior Project Scientist at Weston & Sampson.
Hernandez stated that the models and research give the town with knowledge that will allow officials to begin addressing some of the issues on the community rating system through FEMA.
“That system actually feeds into the insurance premiums for a community standpoint,” Hernandez pointed out.
O’Neill stated that being proactive about predicted flood issues is the best option for the municipality.
“We’re definitely planning for tomorrow’s needs and not today because we do expect sea level rise will continue, we expect there to be more extreme rain events, so we’re trying to plan ahead for that,” according to O’Neill.
Members of the council may adopt the sea level adaptation and resilience plan paper at Tuesday’s meeting, but they will not vote on any of its provisions. O’Neill stated that as the town evaluates these ideas, there will be opportunities for citizen input along the way.
