The Town of Bluffton has jurisdiction over pollutants in Town neighborhoods, not flooding. Flooding is an issue which your Property Owners Association (POA) must address. If you don’t live in a neighborhood with a Property Owners Association (POA), contact the agency which maintains your streets. In most circumstances, flooding is a result of the neighborhood’s infrastructure or clogged ditches adjacent to streets.
However, there are tasks which residents and POAs can do to reduce the possibility of flooding. For one, please educate your neighbors to NEVER blow or put lawn debris and/or garbage of any kind in the storm drains. Pipes, ditches and storm drains are a part of the stormwater infrastructure and each one needs to be inspected and possibly cleaned out before Hurricane season. Any obstruction can cause a domino effect of flooding and that could result in damage to your house, your street or your property. Every resident is encouraged to help in this effort and ensure any ditch, pipe or drain near his or her property is clear of any obstruction.
Town employees routinely inspect and clean out stormwater ditches which reside on Town or other public property. However, numerous stormwater ditches are located on private property or in the jurisdiction of state or county roads. To ensure stormwater is able to flow unimpeded through the town’s infrastructure, all stormwater ditches need to be maintained and regularly cleaned, especially prior to a storm. This ensures a continuous flow of water and prevents clogged areas from flooding.
If you see a clogged pipe or storm drain in your neighborhood, please notify your POA or the agency which maintains your street.
If you don’t know which agency is responsible for street maintenance, please view the Road Maintenance Responsibility Map within the Map Gallery on the Town of Bluffton website via: https://www.townofbluffton.sc.gov/686/Map-Gallery.