Hi All,
Hope you all are staying warm and safe. We here in South Carolina have been plagued with a cold front that seems to like it down here. Waking up to temperatures in the twenties or teens is not something we are used to. I could complain about the high power bills that these cold fronts are producing, but I’m sure it would only fall upon deaf ears of those who live in the northern sections of the US. On top of the cold fronts, we have also had an unusual amount of rain fall for this time of year. We’re not talking about three or four days of showers here. More like 2 to 3 inches in a twelve hour or less time frame. The ground is saturated and many are experiencing unexpected ponds in their yards because the storm drains just can’t handle all the water. In my case, water is rising up through my cement basement floor. Thank goodness my basement is not a total underground space, as that would be a mess.

My neighbors and I are still having a time with the crazy absent landowner who purchased the lot. For those who don’t remember my post from December, here’s a recap.

Our early 1950 developed sub-division (most lots are 1-1/2 to 2 acres) has a storm water problem. Things are bad enough when storm water flows as it should, but when a small .25 acre lot changed hands, problems started to arise (literally). Between my property and my next door neighbor's property runs a natural storm ditch that catches rain water when the street drains are unable to take in so much water at one time. No one dug this 10.5” deep ditch. The ditch that runs between our homes was once part of a old creek. With the addition of storm drains, drought conditions that plague the south, and the building of homes over the years, all that is left behind is “the ditch” (it’s actually becoming a creek again due to all the storm water and the damming. None the less, even with "modern" improvements in place, when Mother Nature pulls a nasty that we can't control, in this case, a natural watercourse quickly kicks in and does things the old fashion way. Any water that prefers to travel the old scenic route via “the ditch" meets up with the creek four or five lots below me and then runs into the Saluda River, which is exactly 1.2 miles behind my home. Needless to say, we are all down hill from one of the town’s main streets 100 yards in front of my home. Crazy new owner has come in and strategically placed a large piles of oak wood chips in the ditch which results in the flooding of my and my neighbors lots, but more important, in my neighbor’s crawl space under her house, and more water in my basement. When this happens the storm water is not just coming up from the basement floor, it also comes in from the brick walls that are underground. A little bit more information, the sub-division requires that a home built must contain 2,000 livable square feet, land can not be used as a business, nor can a manufactured home be placed in within the town limits.
Our biggest problem at this time (other than the storm water) is the small town government. We can’t get the (to date) town supervisor, town council member, or the manager of the water works department to phone the county codes enforcer to come out and say, “Yep, she can’t do that, I’ll send her a letter”. Mind you we, the neighbors, can’t call the county codes enforcer ourselves, only someone from the town can do so. The town supervisor has promised on two separate occasions to do this, but it appears he is not following through. So, we the neighbors are joining together to address the town council at the next meeting. We have no intentions of marching in and pointing fingers and placing the blame on anyone. We will only ask that the land owner be made to remove the piles of wood chips so the water can once again flow freely the way Mother Nature intended.

Here’s where it gets a little sticky. I get to do all the talking, or at least get the conversation started. So many times I’ve sat in these town council meetings (like many of you) and some well meaning citizen gets up and just starts rattling off, get’s off the subject and in the end comes off sounding like a jackass. I don’t want that to be the case here. With the help of Mr. Knowitall, I was pointed in the direction of several cases that have taken place here in South Carolina concerning the easement of storm water, which lead me to actual state legislation. I hope the following section will be our saving grace.

Title 48 - Environmental Protection and Conservation
CHAPTER 14.
THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND SEDIMENT REDUCTION ACT
SECTION 48-14-30. Restriction of land-disturbing activities generally.
(A) Unless exempted, no person may engage in a land disturbing activity without first submitting a stormwater management and sediment control plan to the appropriate implementing agency and obtaining a permit to proceed.
(B) Each person responsible for the land disturbing activity shall certify, on the stormwater management and sediment control plan submitted, that all land disturbing activities will be done according to the approved plan.
(C) All approved land disturbing activities must have associated therein at least one individual who functions as responsible personnel.

Now I’m sure this legislation was not written with “the ditch” in mind, but I’m hoping we can incorporate it to serve our purpose. For those who may need a little more information on the legislation, the state’s website is: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t48c014.htm

I am looking for any and all input concerning this situation. I don’t want to be one of those rattling jackasses. Thank you.