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Aiken reports 122,000+ cubic yards of storm debris collected after Hurricane Helene; cleanup spending tops $1.58 million so far
Summary
City staff updated council on Hurricane Helene recovery: city and contractor SDR have collected hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of debris, department of transportation contractors are working state road cleanup, and non‑payroll expenses recorded to date are $1,580,174 (additional invoices pending).
City staff told Aiken City Council on Jan. 27 that recovery from Hurricane Helene continues and that crews have collected substantial volumes of storm debris during multiple passes.
Staff reported that private contractor SDR had collected 57,770 cubic yards of storm debris through Sunday, Jan. 26, and that city pickup on the second pass had collected an additional 64,452 cubic yards as of the prior Friday. Combined with other contractor activity, staff said the cumulative debris removed from public rights‑of‑way and city‑collected locations exceeds 122,000 cubic yards to date.
The city noted that South Carolina Department of Transportation contractors are also removing debris from state roads; DOT has not provided a site‑specific city total for that separate collection. Staff said roughly half the city’s grapple trucks and containers have shifted to regular yard debris pickup as of the reporting date, to move the service back toward routine schedules after the initial emergency cleanup.
On costs, staff reported $1,580,174 in non‑payroll expenses recorded so far for storm cleanup; an outstanding invoice from SDR remained pending and staff cautioned that the total will rise once the contractor’s final billing is received. The city plans to continue updating the public storm‑cleanup map on social media and the city website.
Council accepted the update as informational; staff said the standalone agenda item on Helene recovery may be retired but that routine cleanup reporting will continue.
