Horry County looks toward addressing stormwater, flooding issues in upcoming budget
Horry County Council is looking at a variety of tools to improve stormwater operations as flooding becomes more routine in the area.
The county’s stormwater department is charged with clearing out debris in drainage systems, mosquito control and making sure stormwater ordinance is followed.
During this week’s budget meetings, county staff requested a number of improvements to help the department do its job better. These included Rosewood outfall piping, S.C. Highway 9 drainage improvements, other drainage projects and additional equipment.
Council Member Bill Howard said the county needs to do everything it can to improve stormwater staff’s pay and equipment to be more competitive with private business. He said the county needs to use impact fees, taxes and other fees to make sure the county is well prepared to meet the challenge flooding presents.
“Let’s fix it, whatever it takes,” he said.
Discussions of any potential tax or fee increase will happen later on in the budget cycle. First, staff was instructed to move forward on plans to make an impact fee.
An impact fee is levied on any new construction to help cover the strain it creates on county services.
A first draft of the impact fee didn’t include stormwater because it needed a more comprehensive future plan. County Council directed staff to make sure stormwater is included in the impact fee ordinance ahead of the budget being approved.
“I think we need to push forward with it. I think we need an emphasis on stormwater,” council chairman Johnny Gardner said. “Do it smart, do it right.”
Assistant Administrator Barry Spivey said staff will make “all efforts possible” to include flood mitigation money in a fee.
Council Member Paul Prince said he has seen impact fees come up several times before during his long tenure on the council. He commended staff for presenting it well and making sure everyone understands what an impact fee might look like.
“I hope everyone understands we’re trying to help this county and make it safer,” Prince said. “I’ll be voting for it.”
Even after an impact fee plan is approved, the county can still change it as more information becomes available regarding long-term stormwater needs created by new development.
Worley specifically wants to work with North Carolina to fix flooding issues as a priority in long-term stormwater plans. He said Horry County needs to put up seed money to build a flood mitigation spillway to hold overflow water from the Waccamaw River and then use impact fees to finish the project.
“So people will know community leaders recognize local leaders see there is a problem and could do something,” Worley said.
While preliminary costs of the fee were presented the day before, county staff is going to do further work to nail down an actual price of the fee.
Spivey said the county’s flood resiliency plan helps identify state and federal money that could be used toward Waccamaw River flood relief. This plan should be completed in the spring of 2020.
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 3:09 PM.
