Guidelines For Homeowners
1. Get educated! Attend meetings sponsored by Kiawah
organizations. Read the Report.
2. L
earn all you can about flood mitigation and sea-level
rise on a local and national level.
3. A
lways pay attention to messages sent to Island
occupants during storm events. Obey evacuation orders
when issued. While National Hurricane Center impact
predictions can never be 100% accurate, they are the
best scientifically valid projections available. Err on the
side of safety.
4. K
now what actions to take in the event of a storm and
be certain that you have provided Kiawah authorities
with up-to-date contact information.
5. I nspect drains on or near your property to insure they
are free of materials that would cause them to clog.
6. A
void using pine straw or similar material that washes
off your property easily and can clog drainage systems.
7. C
hoose landscape materials that can withstand a saltier
environment.
8. C
ontact KICA Resilience Specialist, Lucas Hernandez
(email, phone), to visit your property and recommend
site-specific actions that will be effective for your
situation.
WINTER/SPRING 2020 • VOLUME 42
projects into a framework to better understand the health
status of individual Island habitats. Continuous monitoring of
specific habitat elements (e.g., water quality, soil conditions,
vegetation) within the framework will help us track changes
to the environment and react to various issues as they
arise. Some of these issues include the migration of marsh
vegetation and die-back of canopy trees.
Going forward, fostering collaborative efforts is a critical
component for addressing flooding and sea-level rise. These
cooperative efforts will help us develop mitigation strategies
which ensure the long-term sustainability of Kiawah
Island. Essentially, diversifying our mitigation strategies
and working cooperatively will strengthen our resilience to
flooding and sea-level rise. On the horizon is the inclusion of
nature-based solutions (i.e., rain gardens, living shorelines,
habitat restoration) into Kiawah’s palette of mitigation
strategies. However, reaching a consensus among community
stakeholders on these strategies is also necessary. Future
efforts will likely be focused on discussions to solidify what
are appropriate mitigation alternatives and the best path
moving forward.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that
ever has.—Margaret Mead NK
9. Have in place a plan for moving your vehicles off
island or to high ground in advance of an approaching
storm when storm surge is predicted.
10. Be sure that all ground-level enclosures under or
attached to your house are done with saltwater
resilient materials (e.g. no sheetrock) and have
properly sized, FEMA-approved flood vents
(hydrostatic or open).
11. Consider converting driveways and walkways to
pervious paving or installing permeable buffer strips
to slow water flow to storm drains and to help recharge
fresh groundwater reserves.
12. Elect KICA, Town, and regime representatives who
are committed to flood mitigation and sea-level rise
adaptation resilience measures for Kiawah Island.
13. Organize neighborhood resilience committees to work
with Mr. Hernandez to develop neighborhood-specific
evaluations and action plans for addressing flooding
and sea-level rise.
14. Accept that long-term property values on Kiawah will
require significant financial investment by KICA and
the Town in measures to improve island resilience to
flooding events.
Chandler/www.adamchandlerphotography.com
Charleston, the Town of Kiawah Island, and the Kiawah
Island Community Association is initiating studies to
address concerns about the groundwater table and marsh
vulnerability. The groundwater table study will focus on
researching the depth of the vadose zone (the area between
the soil surface and the groundwater table) and salinity
conditions on the Island. A series of temporary monitoring
wells will be installed to gather information on groundwater
conditions. The Community Association is also collaborating
on this project by providing resources and space necessary to
gather the information. The marsh vulnerability study seeks
to answer questions about Kiawah’s marshland. A series of
aerial images from years past will be used to create a database
of historical shorelines within the marsh. Analysis of these
shorelines will provide us with information about how
vegetation has been impacted by rising sea levels until the
present time. We will also be able to identify vulnerable areas
within the marsh to prioritize future restoration projects.
Some of these restoration alternatives and suitable conditions
for placement were identified in the South Carolina
Department of Natural Resource’s report, Summary of Living
Shorelines Research, released in November of 2019.
These studies also tie into the Conservancy’s Ecological
Health Initiative, which will incorporate the data from both
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