Month: June 2019

NextDoor is an open social platform, supposedly moderated but, in practice, the home of real discussions as well as periodic bouts of rumor-mongering, insults, slanders and other shenanigans. Some Board members monitor NextDoor, with both bemusement and amusement, but we do not comment on any posts; our staff’s time and our lives are way too short to waste on fact-checking the rumors. Heather ensures that the staff uses their time more productively than reading social media. They work on the real problems and matters that directly affect our Seabrook experience.

A case in point is the recent spate of posts regarding a private event at the Community Center. The event was held in accordance with the Rules and Regulations, which require that the pool may only be used by property owners and their accompanied guests, and that it remains open to other property owners. The R & R are, of course, made by you, the property owners, working through SIPOA committees and the Board. The post reported that there was a “group of at least 30 people” using the pool, and there were various subsequent expressions of outrage.
Finally, a property owner asked the office about the event. The office reviewed the pool area security camera tapes from the time; there were a maximum of 10 people in the pool at any time (we don’t know their identities, or how many were property owners). That maximum number was observed at 12 p.m.; the event started at 1.30 p.m. The event followed all the R & R.

So, please, rather than venting your spleen about something you think has happened, ask the SIPOA office. Use publiccomment@sipoa.org and you’ll get the real story, not the NextDoor version.

Guy Gimson
President, SIPOA Board of Directos

This is the final post for the series, “Let’s Talk About Flooding on Seabrook Island”.

What’s a King Tide?

King tide is a non-scientific term for astronomic tide that people in the Lowcountry often use to describe exceptionally high tides. Tides are long-period waves that roll around the planet as the ocean is “pulled” back and forth by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun as these bodies interact with the Earth in their monthly and yearly orbits. It coincides with the moon being closest to the earth in its monthly elliptical orbit.

When are king tides or especially high astronomic high tides predicted in 2019?

• July 3-4
• July 30 – August 3
• August 28 – September 1
• September 25 – October 2
• October 26-31
• November 25-28

What Can We Expect in 2019?

-Charleston Harbor will have 710 astronomic high tides in 2019.
-The highest astronomic tide is projected to be 7.05’ (without wind or atmospheric pressure influences).
-19 or 3% of the astronomic high tides will be above 6.76’, or above 1’ above MHHW.
– 87 or 12% of the astronomic high tides will be above 6.26’, or above .5’ above MHHW.
– 241 or 34% of the astronomic high tides will be above 5.76’, above MHHW.

What can each Seabrook Island Resident do to help?

• Clean out your basement level. Make sure there are no chemicals, fertilizers, or paints on the floor of your garage. These can require a potentially expensive clean up if mixed with salt or freshwater. Turn in old chemicals, fertilizers, and paints at the Seabrook Island recycling center.
• Remove all valuables from your basement level, where there could be flooding.
• Make sure there is nothing blocking your basement storm vents that could prevent them from working properly.
• If you have electrical outlets at a low level in your basement, consider having an electrician relocate them higher up on the wall. Likewise with electrical switches.
• Make sure the street drain near your home is clear of mulch, pine straw and other debris allowing for drainage.
• Move your car to higher ground when flooding is imminent; saltwater is corrosive for car tires / undercarriage / engines.
• If it’s time to re-pave your driveway, consider using pervious materials to encourage draining.
• If it’s time to add plantings to your yard, consider installing a rain garden in an area that floods frequently using plants that soak up water.

One last note, NEVER drive through standing water. Water can damage the roadbed, causing it to collapse or wash out. The result is that the water may be much deeper than you anticipate.

-Submitted by the SIPOA General Operating and Maintenance Committee

 

Due to the 4th of July holiday, the next monthly Brown and White pickup is Friday, July 12, 2019.  It normally is the first Friday of the month, but since the holiday is on a Thursday, they have moved it to the next Friday. July 12.

Bulk items can be left curbside by 7:00 am.  Place items including furniture, appliances, grills, lawn furniture, or other similar household items where you would normally leave your trash and recycling.

Hazardous waste such as old paint cans, electronics, batteries, fluorescent lights, and old yard or household chemicals can be taken to the Maintenance area (adjacent to the Community Garden) that morning between 7 am and 2 pm.  Hazardous materials must be handed directly to the attendant on duty.  The materials cannot be left on the ground. See the SIPOA Garbage Schedule 2019 here.

If you are planning to put bikes out on Brown and White pickup day, Sarah Quinn is collecting them for the Bicycles for Humanity (B4H) Program.  You can call her to pick them up. Her phone number is (843) 768-4407.

–Tidelines Editors

The most recent minutes of the Safety and Security Committee are available online.

To view these minutes, go to https://gateaccess.net. You will be asked for the Community Code, select SIPOA and then type in your user name and password.  After clicking on Login, scroll across the top bar and select Community Documents.

Please refer any questions to publiccomment@sipoa.org.

–Tidelines Editors

This is the second of a three-part series, “Let’s Talk About Flooding on Seabrook Island”.

What kind of flooding do we get?

There are several types of flooding that can occur on Seabrook Island – – normal rainfall flooding, extreme precipitation, nuisance tidal flooding, and storm surge flooding.

Normal rainfall flooding occurs when the ground is already saturated, allowing no place for the water to run off. The result is standing water in low areas that will drain over time.

Extreme precipitation flooding occurs when the amount of rainfall exceeds the design capacity of our stormwater infrastructure. In general, Seabrook Island stormwater infrastructure is designed to accommodate a 10-year storm event. Charleston County defines a 10-year storm event as 6.5 inches of rain or more in a 24-hour period. It is called a 10-year storm event because it is statistically likely to occur once every 10 years based on historical rain data. Rain data for Charleston County is collected at the Charleston airport. The amount of rain that falls during a storm event on Seabrook can vary depending on where you are on the island.

While extreme precipitation is very unpredictable, Seabrook Island is likely to experience a ‘10 + inches in 31 days’ event almost once a year and a ‘5+ inches in a single day event’ about every 5 years or so. Over the last four years, Seabrook Island has experienced four ‘10+ inches in 31 days’ events, which is about normal.  However, with the help of hurricanes Joaquin, Matthew and Irma, we have experienced three ‘5+ inches in a day’ events in relatively quick succession. For those of us who are relatively new to Seabrook, this sequence of rainfall events may have come as something of a surprise.

Nuisance tidal flooding is some combination of high tide, atmospheric pressure and wind, i.e., high tide of .5’ up to 1’ above the mean higher high water (MHHW) mark; low atmospheric pressure which raises sea level, and sustained SE onshore winds (35 mph can raise sea level by as much as 20 inches or 1.85’).Storm surge flooding is caused by astronomic high tide plus storm surge. Storm surge is the rising of the sea level as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm. Storm tide flooding of 1-3’ above the mean higher high water (MHHW) mark causes minor flooding; 3-5’ above MHHW causes moderate flooding; and greater than 5’ causes major flooding. For example, during Hurricane Irma we experienced moderate flooding, which was 3.7’ above MHHW.

Astronomic tides are predicted tidal levels that result from the gravitational pull of the earth, sun, and moon. The mean higher high water mark is 5.76’ for Charleston Harbor, while the astronomic high tide for Charleston Harbor is approximately 7.5’.  

-Submitted by the SIPOA General Operating and Maintenance Committee