Last night, Mayor John Tecklenburg and Charleston City Council voted to create the city’s first Stormwater Department to alleviate flooding and improve drainage throughout Charleston.
In addition to the Stormwater director, who will be hired early next year, the department will include several new positions, including project managers, inspectors, an administrative technician and construction workers dedicated to strategically addressing flooding and drainage issues citywide.
The Mayor and City Council also increased stormwater funding by $2.4 million for 2019, which will fund projects related to flood mitigation throughout the city.
Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Fixing flooding and drainage is the city’s number one priority, and this new, independent Stormwater Department is a critical next step in implementing our strategy. With tough new stormwater rules already in place in Church Creek and more on the way citywide, not to mention a large number of drainage projects moving forward now and in the future, this department will give us the focus and accountability we need to see these projects and others through to success.”