x
Breaking News
More () »

Columbia plans to allocate $4M to combat flooding in Belvedere, Louisa Street neighborhoods

The projects would address problems in the Belvedere neighborhood and Louisa Street, to improve drainage and water quality.
Credit: WLTX

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As part of the city's proposed budget, $4 million of capital improvements could be coming to some neighborhoods in Columbia to help with flooding.

The improvements in the Belvedere and Louisa Street neighborhoods would help with drainage and water quality in areas that are often affected by flooding.

"There are still open ditches throughout this entire community, and so those are issues we are gonna have to resolve because if there’s another flood, a thousand year flood, who knows when there’s gonna be another one tonight, tomorrow, next week," said State Representative Leon Howard. 

Belvedere is in his district, and he knows many residents in the area, including one whose entire home had to be repaired after the 2015 floods.

“This home that’s behind us was completely destroyed," Howard said. "Roof, HVACs, electrical ... the gentleman that lived here had to move out. He’s handicapped."

According to Assistant City Manager Clint Shealy, $450,000 would be used to assess the piping system and address any issues in Belvedere. Another stream restoration project in Belvedere is already underway, funded by previous funding.

The Louisa Street walkway is another problem area where Shealy says "green infrastructure" will be added to address flooding.

“We knew Louisa Street was a problem," Shealy said. "It's been a problem. It didn’t affect quite as many people, so it got pushed out a little bit, so now there’s a focus on that ... get that design work done and move quickly to construction on that.”

The budget passed the first reading this week. 

If it's approved, spending on the new projects could begin on July 1, when the budget goes into effect.

Before You Leave, Check This Out