Who is Responsible for Drainage on James Island?

Many residents are confused about who deals with drainage on James Island.

While the answer is not simple, it is not that complicated.

If you reside in the Town of James Island (the Town,) the answer is simple for you. 

Call the Town at (843) 795-4141 or email mjohnson@jamesislandsc.us

The Town's public works department will determine which government body is responsible for solving any reported drainage problems. We will contact the appropriate authority.   If the problem persists, call the Town for an update. 

If you are having problems with the Town, call me at (843) 697-7020 or email mayorwoolsey@gmail.com. If you feel that you are getting the run-around from anyone at the Town, get that person's name and call me.

If you live in the City of Charleston (the City,) you should call City public works at (843) 724-7367.   If you live in an unincorporated area of James Island, call Charleston County (the County.)  Their stormwater hotline is  (843) 202-7639. 

If you are unsure, you can call the Town and we will let you know where you live, forward your issue to the appropriate body, and tell you who it is best to contact in the future.

The James Island Public Service District (JIPSD) has no responsibility for drainage in any part of James Island.  Do not call them about drainage issues.  (They are responsible for fire protection, solid waste collection, and wastewater.   Wastewater is sewer and different from stormwater.)

The Town of James Island is directly responsible for the ditches and piped systems next to and under Town roads and the drainage ditches or piped systems behind or between homes in areas under Town jurisdiction.   Many neighborhood roads are Town roads.   However, many neighborhood roads are SCDOT roads. These are generally older neighborhoods that initially had dirt roads which were paved using state money.   There are even a few Town residents who live on a road owned by the City of Charleston.   Drainage systems outside of the roads often pass through the jurisdiction of the Town, the City of Charleston, Charleston County, and SCDOT.

Maintenance and repairs for the Town's drainage system is my key priority.  I don't want it to be the Town's ditches or pipes that are causing anyone a problem.   However, if you are a Town resident, you don't need to worry about who is directly responsible for your drainage issue.   You need to contact the Town.   We will make sure that it is addressed.

The Town has an intergovernmental agreement with the County for public works.  The County budgets approximately $150,000 per year for their crews to do basic maintenance on the Town's drainage ditches and pipes. The Town is responsible for paying the County for any additional work beyond that limit.  County crews also do repairs on drainage infrastructure in the Town and bill the Town for the work.   The Town has three on call private contractors that do maintenance and repairs on Town drainage infrastructure.   The Town budgets $200,000 per year to pay Charleston County and private contractors.

The Town has also budgeted $400,000 for specific drainage improvement projects  during the current fiscal year.  These funds often form the Town's match for County Transportation Sales Tax funds.  As the Town identifies additional projects, more funds will be budgeted in future years.    We place the items on the budget over the next five years as we obtain cost estimates.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is responsible for drainage in their right-of-way.   This includes the ditches and piped systems next to or under SCDOT roads.    All major roads on James Island are SCDOT owned.   That includes Folly, Camp, Harborview, Fort Johnson, Dills Bluff, Secessionville, and Maybank Highway.   Roads within neighborhoods are more complicated.    In many neighborhoods, Lighthouse Point for example, all of the roads belong to SCDOT.   In other neighborhoods, some or all of the roads belong to the local government--either the Town, the City, or the County.   Many SCDOT drainage system do not connect to an outfall (the marsh) but rather connect to Town, City, or County drainage ditches or pipes that convey the water to the outfall.

Last year, Town Council authorized expenditure of up to $100,000 per year for emergency maintenance and repairs on SCDOT drainage infrastructure in areas under the Town's jurisdiction.  We can pay Charleston County or private contractors to do the work.

It is important that Town residents contact the Town about drainage issues.   While you can directly contact Charleston County or SCDOT, they do not have access to the Town's funding or private contractors.   If Charleston County or SCDOT can solve the problem promptly, then it is usually better to let them do it and we will.  But if there are significant delays and the problem is urgent then the Town can bring additional resources.  But that is only possible if the Town has been informed about the issue.

The City of Charleston is directly responsible for drainage next to and under City roads as well as ditches and pipes between and behind homes in areas of City jurisdiction.  Some of the newer neighborhoods on James Island are entirely within the City and and all of their neighborhood roads belong to the City as well.   The City is responsible for all of the drainage--other than what is the responsibility of a private Homeowner's Association.   If you live in a City neighborhood, such as Bayview Farms, any drainage issues should be addressed to the City of Charleston.

Charleston County is directly responsible for drainage in the unincorporated area.   This includes drainage next to and under County owned roads.  It also includes ditches and pipes between and behind homes in the unincorporated area.   On James Island, County roads are those roads in an unincorporated area that do not belong to SCDOT.    When the City annexes an area on James Island, what were County roads become City roads.  When the Town was incorporated in 2012, what were County roads became Town roads.  If the Town annexes any additional areas, the County roads in those areas become Town roads.

There is a monthly stormwater meeting at the James Island Town Hall.   Representatives of the City, County, SCDOT and the Town meet to work together to solve stormwater problems.   Drainage has been an important issue on the James Island Intergovenrmental Council's agenda for the last several years.   The elected officials of James Island--Town, City, County, and State are united in their commitment to work together to solve drainage and flooding problems.

The City, County, and Town are currently working in an intergovernmental agreement to fund an Island-wide delineation of drainage basins.   The County has retained a consultant and the City, County, and Town will be sharing the cost.   The expectation is that approximately 30 basins will be identified.   Further, approximately 1/3 will be identified as areas where further study is likely to be most fruitful.   This process may identify some projects for immediate action.  However, the elected officials of the Town, City, and County will then select one or more basins for more detailed study and the identification of needed repairs and improvements.   Finally, projects will be identified and improvements will be made with cost shared by the Town, City, County, and SCDOT.

The Town's public works department and Town officials and staff keep an eye out for drainage issues.   However, we depend on our residents to also let us know when they see problems.   Please contact the Town, especially regarding drainage issues near your home, street and neighborhood.