$4M authorized for downtown flooding

The city of Charleston is expected to get $4 million from the federal government to alleviate constant flooding in the area known as the Fishburne/Spring drainage basin. Flooding in this area occurs during heavy rains and is made worse during high tides, at which times much of the area between Spring and Fishburne Streets, including the stretch of U.S. Highway 17, can be impassable.

Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. credited state lawmakers in Columbia for securing the government funds for Charleston. Congress has also authorized stormwater improvement funds for other areas around the state under the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.

Riley said once the $4 million is appropriated, more could follow. Drainage problems in the Fishburne-Spring Street area are expected to be the most costly to fix among flood-prone areas addressed by the city's 1984 master plan for drainage projects.

By Daily Journal Staff