STORMWATER RUNOFF CONTROL—A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN HORRY COUNTY

Many homeowners in the coastal part of Horry County face mild to severe stormwater runoff problems caused by rapid growth and insufficient planning or building restrictions. If you are experiencing stormwater runoff problems in your home or business, please let us know in this Forum. By communicating your problems, locating others with similar problems, and working together, taxpayers can cause positive change in Horry County.

If you do not currently have a stormwater runoff problem, that does NOT mean you will not have one in the future. Future developments near YOU, if insufficiently planned and managed, can create severe stormwater runoff problems where they do not currently exist. If you have any undeveloped land nearby, (a golf course, forest) or older homes, you are at risk.

Julie Harbin, Co-Founder
Horry County PRIDE
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In the event you are unfamiliar with stormwater runoff problems and desire a brief education, please see below.

STORMWATER RUNOFF is rainfall that runs off the ground or impervious surfaces like buildings, roads, parking lots, etc. and drains into natural (streams, rivers, lakes, sounds, the ocean) or manmade drainage systems (inlets and underground pipes)/

PROBLEMS OF INADEQUATE STORMWATER RUNOFF CONTROL:
• Urbanized area—fair to poor water quality due to stormwater runoff and leaking
sewer lines.
• Flooding—Damage to public and private property, including infrastructure
• Eroded Streambanks—Sediment clogs waterways, fills lakes, reservoirs
• Widened Stream Channels—Loss of valuable property
• Aesthetics—Dirty water, trash and debris, foul odors
• Fish and Aquatic Life—Impairment/destruction
• Impaired Recreational Uses—Swimming, fishing, boating, etc.
• Threatens Public Health—Contamination of drinking water, fish/shellfish
• Threatens Public Safety—Drownings in flood waters
• Economic Impacts—Fisheries, shellfish, tourism, recreation related businesses
• Increased Cost of Water and Wastewater Treatment—Stormwater pollution increases raw
water treatment costs and reduces the assimilative capacity of waterbodies.