WINNSBORO, S.C. — Persistent flooding in Winnsboro's Zion Hill neighborhood has long troubled residents, but a new project funded by a $450,000 grant aims to provide relief.
For residents like Jane Boyter, who lives along Drayton Street, the flooding is a constant struggle. “It’s like an ocean down here to the side of my house,” Boyter said.
Another neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, described the flooding's impact. “When it rains real hard, it comes across the road and comes down our driveway because we're down hill—it gets like a river. and it floods out everything.”
Town Manager Chris Clauson explained that the flooding originates on Hill Garden Street and Drayton Street, with water flowing downhill and causing erosion near the Garden Street Park ballfield.
“We have drainage problems here, so this project will bring all this water, you can see the two catch basins you've got here, it's coming under the road, to this culvert we have over here so a part of this project we're going to attempt to pipe that and hopefully stop the eroding that's taking place."
The grant, awarded by the South Carolina Department of Commerce, will fund a new sidewalk and drainage improvements along Drayton Street. While addressing the flooding is still in the planning phase, Clauson said the project includes critical studies to determine water flow and how to properly channel it.
Additionally, the new sidewalks will replace outdated ones that do not meet ADA requirements.
“It’s actually not a 5-foot-wide sidewalk, so it technically doesn’t meet current ADA requirements,” Clauson said. “The plan is to bring it all the way down Drayton Street and up Park Street as well.”
According to Clauson, the project is expected to take less than two years to complete, aligning with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program timeline. Once finished, the new sidewalks will connect Zion Hill neighborhood with Fortune Springs Park, improving accessibility and addressing long-standing flooding concerns.