Dear Lyle:

I receive this e-mail from Ms. Light, with several attached photos. This relates to the e-mail I already sent you from the Governor's office from her concerning the same issue.

As previously requested, please address her concerns by having someone get in touch with her to discuss the situation she is referring to. Please copy those on this e-mail with the outcome.

Thanks for your attention to this, Lyle.


Dede Elmore, MBA
Executive Assistant
Office of the Secretary
SCDOT
955 Park Street
P.O. Box 191
Columbia, SC 29202
803-737-1312

-----Original Message-----
From: celight@windstream.net [mailto:celight@windstream.net]
Sent: Monday, August 01, 2016 8:16 AM
To: Elmore, Dede
Subject: CHURCH CAMP ROAD CAMERON SC - BULLS POND

Governor Haley's office determined that SCDOT is best suited to respond to my concern.  Please see below:

To Whom it May Concern at SCDOT,

I read the article in the Monday July 25th Times & Democrat paper concerning the road still closed after the October 2015 flooding on Church Camp Road near Cameron from Cameron Road to Dwight Swamp Road (about 1.45 miles of Church Camp Road) due to dam failure.  I live on Dwight Swamp Road and can’t travel to Cameron on Church Camp Road due to this closure.  Instead of traveling two miles into Cameron, I have to travel about seven miles to get into town.  I understand that there are many roads still closed due to dam failure, but I don’t believe this road should be considered closed due to dam failure.  This road travels between a pond and a spillway.  This is a PUBLIC road that was traveled every day by everyone, not a road that is actually built over a lake dam where homeowners have to travel over the lake dam to get to their homes.  Also from what I understand the homeowners in lake communities are responsible for managing the water level and agreed to have their taxes raised to repair their road going over the dam.  I also believe Church Camp Road was washed out due to erosion from the running water coming down the hill.  The actual cement structure (pipe basin) that runs under the road from the pond to the spillway on the other side appears to be still intact and does not appear to be damaged.  The road over this cement pipe basin is intact.  The road is washed out on the side of the cement pipe basin and before it from the Dwight Swamp Road side.  The water rushing down the hill and coming from the over flowing pond during all that rain actually eroded and washed out the dirt from under the road therefore causing it to collapse on the spillway side.  It is not washed out on the actual pond side of the road.  The paper states that quote “We (DHEC) continue to be in contact with the owners of both dams and are working with them to provide technical assistance so that they can make final decisions on the future of their dams and implement the repairs,” she said.  The very next sentence states that AN ATTEMPT TO REACH THE DAM OWNERS WAS UNSUCCESSFUL.  So which is it? Is DHEC in contact with the owners or have they failed to reach the owners?  This road should not be assessed as a dam failure.  It should be considered as a road that was washed out due to the heavy rains and erosion.  Since this is a public road and should not be considered a dam, it should be repaired and the owner should not be allowed to put water back into this pond to avoid future issues like this.  The pond is already growing up with weeds, bushes and trees and only has a stream running through it going under the road to the spillway side as you can see in the photos.   Photos are attached for your information and action.  Your assistance is greatly appreciated in this matter.  Thanks in advance. 

Very respectfully, Cheryl Light