How Stronger Standards, a Dedicated Fund, and Smart Partnerships Are Reducing Flood Risk in the Upstate
When Mayor Paul Shewmaker took office, Simpsonville, South Carolina, had roughly 23,000 residents; today it is approaching 30,000. While that growth brings opportunity, it also brings risk. Simpsonville’s risk profile is classic for inland South Carolina: no major river, but frequent, intense downpours and widespread hurricane impacts. For Simpsonville, their growth meant more surfaces that shed water and more people in harm’s way.
The stakes became clear early in Mayor Shewmaker’s first term. Three inches of rain fell in 45 minutes, washing out an entire stream crossing. The emergency repair topped $300,000, about 1.5% of the city’s annual budget at the time. The message was clear: reacting to floods costs far more than preparing for them.
From reaction to readiness
Mayor Shewmaker is candid that no city can engineer away every extreme, but local choices can meaningfully reduce routine losses, keeping water out of homes, roads open, and emergency access clear.
Simpsonville moved on several fronts at once. The city tightened development standards so new construction must be sited farther from streams, built to higher elevations, and required to retain more stormwater on-site. The council created a dedicated stormwater resilience fund, seeding it with $830,000 and committing roughly $500,000 in annual contributions. To ensure those dollars went where they mattered most, the city commissioned an independent prioritization study to rank projects by impact.
Together, these changes protect future residents, reduce the downstream impacts of older development patterns, and give the city flexible capital to act on priority fixes without waiting for an emergency or a grant.
Relationships that move projects forward
Partnerships make resilience possible. The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) is a key ally, aligning statewide planning with local needs and helping municipalities build capacity. The American Flood Coalition’s (AFC) convenings complement that work by putting mayors face-to-face with agency staff and legislators in Columbia, SC, and Washington, DC.
Long-range planning belongs at the state and federal levels, but when time is short, the fastest emergency response happens locally, if dollars and approvals can flow quickly. Mayor Shewmaker emphasizes that those relationships must be built “before the ask.” Simpsonville recently hosted a breakfast for everyone who represents the city, from county commissioners to congressional offices, simply to connect. As the mayor puts it, “You won’t get far if you only show up to say ‘I want.’ Build the relationship first.”
Lessons for peer communities
- Start by fixing tomorrow’s risk today: strengthen ordinances so new development doesn’t add to yesterday’s problems.
- Create a standing fund, even a modest one: dedicated capital lets you act early and compete for outside grants.
- Use independent prioritization: a ranked project list makes each dollar visible and defensible.
- Keep communication practical: when a storm knocks out power and signals go dark, a simple, timely reminder that every intersection becomes a four-way stop can prevent crashes while crews restore power.
- Build relationships before the ask: coordination comes naturally in emergencies, and projects keep moving when connections exist beforehand.
AFC supports communities like Simpsonville through funding navigation, peer examples from inland and coastal communities, and convenings that keep local, state, and federal partners aligned.
“For decades, the can got kicked. We finally picked it up,” said Mayor Shewmaker.
