Resilience
Flooding & Resilience
Harleston Village is one of Charleston's most frequently flooded neighborhoods. Here's how flooding works here, the projects meant to fix it, and what's at stake on the ballot.
Start here
Charleston floods three different ways
It's easy to lump the flood projects together, but they solve different problems — and each calls for a different fix.
| Type of flooding | What causes it | Primary defense |
|---|---|---|
| Storm surge | Hurricanes pushing a wall of ocean water onto the Peninsula | The Battery Extension (10–12 ft perimeter wall) |
| Tidal / “sunny-day” | King tides that flood the road with no storm at all | The knee wall now; the Battery Extension later |
| Rainfall / stormwater | Heavy rain that can't drain out to the river when high tides block the outfalls | Drainage & pumps — plus the storage basin (polder) the knee wall (near term) and Battery Extension (long term) create to hold rain until the tide drops, as Colonial & Alberta Sottile Long lakes do today |
The new walls do double duty. They keep storm surge and king tides out — but the space behind them is also designed to store rainwater that can't drain to the river at high tide, holding it until the tide drops and pumps can clear it. See how the pieces fit together →
Understand the projects
The Lockwood Drive flood defenses, explained
Three short reads — start with the overview, then dig into each project.
Three Kinds of Flooding, Three Lines of Defense
Storm surge, sunny-day tides, and rainfall are three different flooding problems with three different fixes — and the space between the knee wall and the Battery Extension becomes stormwater storage. Here's how they work together.
Read → 02The Battery Extension Comes to Lockwood Drive — Right Next Door
The City of Charleston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are advancing the Battery Extension, a perimeter flood-protection system encircling the Peninsula. The Lockwood Drive segment runs along the western edge of Harleston Village.
Read → 03The Lockwood Drive Knee Wall — A Near-Term Fix for Our Flooded Edge
Lockwood Drive floods even on sunny days. The City's near-term "knee wall" — a sub-2-foot seawall with check valves and a gate — is designed to keep the road dry and work hand in hand with the larger Battery Extension.
Read →From the neighborhood
Flooding, in pictures
The conditions HVA is working to change — the same streets on a dry day and underwater.
Take action
What HVA is doing about it
The Flood & Resiliency Committee tracks these projects, presses the City for better storm response and maintenance, and advocates for the drainage Harleston Village needs. See current priorities, the year's chronology, and how to help.