Weston & Sampson was selected by the City of Charleston to perform the Church Creek Drainage Basin and Flood Reduction Study. The Basin includes over 10,000 acres of residential and commercial developments and has experienced flooding in the past, increasing in severity and frequency over the last few years. Several of the study’s policy recommendations to improve flooding conditions have since been implemented by the city.
Our firm evaluated past study recommendations, upgraded the hydraulic model to ICPR4, directed over 14 outreach meetings, and developed initiatives that would fix the flooding problems if implemented. The recommendations included tidal surge protection at key locations, stormwater diversions, channel maintenance, protection of the flood plain, a regional stormwater pumping facility and policy recommendations associated with the stormwater design manual that govern drainage design. Several policy recommendations that were provided in the study have recently been implemented by the city.
Since the original project was completed, Weston & Sampson was also engaged by the City of Charleston to expand the ICPR4 model to include additional areas. Our team’s efforts on the Church Creek Basin were publicly recognized for solving a 200-year-old drainage problem. The city presented us with a replica gold coin, the original of which had been offered up by the city’s Mayor in the late 19th century to anybody who could develop an effective flood control plan.
