Ground Breaking on $5.8M Barberry Woods Restoration Project on Johns Island, South Carolina
Big news for Johns Island, South Carolina!
The City of Charleston and SC Office of Resilience have officially broken ground on the $5.8M Barberry Woods Restoration Project! This game-changing project will reduce flooding in Barberry Woods & The Cottages, ensuring safer access for residents—especially during storms.
- Flood bypass channel & wetland storage
- 5,000 native trees & 8,900 shrubs planted
- A scenic pedestrian bridge & walking trail
- Flooding reduced to less than 8 hours during a 100-year storm!
This is resilience in action—protecting homes, nature, and our community!
Project Details
The South Carolina Office of Resilience and the City of Charleston are pleased to announce that construction of the Barberry Woods Restoration Project in Johns Island, SC has begun. The $5.8M project, of which $4.9M is funded by SCOR’s ARPA Stormwater Infrastructure Program, aims to reduce flooding in Barberry Woods and The Cottages. It includes a flood bypass channel, wetland storage cells, maintenance berms, and features for passive recreation such as a pedestrian walkway, bridge, and educational signage.
Flooding in the Barberry Woods neighborhood often blocks access due to a single entryway, cutting off residents from emergency services and causing prolonged impacts. Once completed, the project is expected to reduce flooding to less than eight hours during a 100-year storm event. The City of Charleston estimates that 3,437 residents and 1,687 housing units will benefit from these stormwater improvements.
“Johns Island has long needed flooding relief in this area, and we’re grateful for SCOR’s partnership in making this project a reality. Once completed, it will significantly improve the quality of life for residents,” said Mayor William Cogswell.
The City of Charleston will also replant 5,000 native trees and 8,900 native shrubs throughout the entire site. In addition to creating a nature-based flood mitigation solution, this project benefits a variety of natural resources facing development pressure within the urban growth boundary of Johns Island.
“This project demonstrates SCOR’s commitment to funding green infrastructure solutions to reduce flood hazard risks” explains Chief Resilience Officer Ben Duncan. “The project will restore an approximately 25-acre area into a wetland floodplain system and meandering creek that will increase water storage during storm events and improve drainage issues.”
Following the design and permitting phases, which the City of Charleston funded and managed, the project’s construction phase will be funded in part by SCOR; the Office will also provide oversight during this process. Construction is estimated to take 10 months.
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