Beaufort flooding fixes will cost millions. Here’s how the city plans to start
An effort to curb recurring flooding will cost Beaufort property owners a little extra each year — about $30 — as the city begins the process to borrow millions for the work.
The city plans to borrow $6 million via general obligation bonds by December to pay for work on drainage improvements. Officials hope this will solve issues during all but the worst storms.
An area covering 800 acres in the Mossy Oaks area, including part of the town of Port Royal, is the focus of initial work expected to include larger pipes, a new pond and cleared ditches.
Local officials will update residents during a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Beaufort Middle School.
The money will be paid back using residents’ stormwater fees, an annual charge raised to $135 from $105 earlier this year to help cover the borrowed amount. There should be enough remaining in the stormwater budget — about $500,000 — for routine maintenance work in other areas, City Manager Bill Prokop said.
“We’re not just putting all our eggs (in major projects) and saying we’re just going to fix that and nothing else,” he said during a City Council workshop Tuesday.
A $1 million grant will bring the total available to $7 million. Work in the Mossy Oaks area is expected to cost about $5.5 million, leaving money to address other projects.
Vulnerable areas of Beaufort flooded during recent major storms — with Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Tropical Storm Irma in 2017 — but also during routine heavy rainfall and abnormally high tides. A summer rainstorm in July, which dropped almost 3 inches in an hour, caused numerous cars to have to be towed from downtown.
Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling asked city officials earlier this year whether current proposed fixes and borrowing would be enough to account for rising sea levels due to climate change.
He said this week he is confident early phases of the work will address rising water levels, noting plans to raise the Spanish Moss Trail serving as a buffer to Battery Creek, add flood gates, enlarge drain pipes and dig a pond able to hold water until the tide recedes.
“I think as we move into downtown and the Point (neighborhood), we’re going to have sea-level-rise issues that are going to transcend just redoing the stormwater infrastructure,” Keyserling said.
An engineering report identified an estimated $15 million in necessary drainage projects throughout the city. City officials are starting with only $6 million in bonds so that the money doesn’t sit unused while early work begins, finance director Kathy Todd said during the workshop Tuesday.
There’s no penalty for paying off the bonds early, and the city will have the chance to pursue grants and consider borrowing more later, city officials said.
Mossy Oaks residents will hear about planned fixes during the community meeting next week. Among the proposed solutions are a new 4-acre pond in the area of Southside Park and improving the drain pipes at First Boulevard and Battery Creek Road and at the Spanish Moss Trail leading into Battery Creek.
Work could include raising sections of the trail and Battery Creek Road, Prokop said.
City Council will vote on the bonds Tuesday, with a final vote planned in November.
This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 1:37 PM.