Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Watershed Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Greenwood County accepts watershed study after public pleas about flooding; Miller recuses
Summary
The council accepted the Greenwood County Watershed Study (presented as Wolpert/Wolford) and signaled the need for a special meeting to prioritize projects and funding; a resident urged adoption citing repeated flooding and sewer overflows on Brookfield Drive. Councilwoman Miller recused from the vote because she lives in an affected community.
Greenwood County Council voted on Sept. 2 to accept the Greenwood County Watershed Study, a staff presentation the transcript references alternately as Wolpert and Wolford. The acceptance was unanimous among voting members; Councilwoman Miller recused herself from the vote because she lives in a community that the study references.
Public comment and why it mattered: Earlier in the meeting, resident Doug Collins told the council he lives on Brookfield Drive and urged them to adopt the watershed study and prioritize penny‑sales‑tax project No. 16. Collins said his subdivision has been cut off by flooding multiple times over the past 19 years, that utilities run under the roadway and could be lost if an upstream spillway or dam gives way, and that sewer lines have overflowed during flood events. "There's approximately 30 residents on Brookfield Drive that are completely cut off when we have a flooding event," Collins said, and he described raw sewage discharges during storms.
Staff presentation and council action: County staff and the consultant's slides were available for council review. Josh (presenter) told council the study had been presented about two weeks earlier and that staff had asked council to review it for two weeks before voting. The chairman said the acceptance was a recommendation only and that council would need a special meeting to discuss project order and funding mechanisms. The county manager, staff and council noted that adopting the study is a procedural step that enables further project prioritization and budgeting.
Recusal: Councilwoman Miller announced she must recuse herself from the watershed vote because she lives in one of the communities referenced in the study and filed a recusal form; she did not participate in that vote.
Quotes: "We will take this as a recommendation only," the chairman said, adding the need for a special called meeting to discuss project order and funding. Doug Collins told council, "If that gives way, that also washes out the utilities as well as those people not being able to get to their homes."
What’s next: Council accepted the study and directed staff to return with prioritization and funding options. Council members flagged the need to schedule a follow‑up meeting to determine which watershed projects to pursue first and how to pay for them.
