Land ownership questions cause ditch concerns in Dorchester Co.

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The question of who’s responsible for maintaining certain ditches in Dorchester County has been a hot topic of conversation for some residents.

People who live along a ditch located in between North Ridgebrook Drive and North Split Oak in the Pepperidge community say they keep getting the runaround about who really owns this land and who should maintain it.

“I’ve called Dorchester County a couple of times, but they say it’s our problem,” Tammeshia Smith, who’s lived in the Pepperidge community for around five years, said. “We have to deal with it.”

Dianne Neff claims she’s been trying to get the county’s attention for her son’s property in Pepperidge for three years now.

“Well, this was cleaned out ten years ago,” Neff said. “So, why was it cleaned out ten years ago?”

Both of them say the ditch is causing a host of issues when it’s not maintained.

“The water has come into his backyard previously,” Neff said. “And every year that it’s not getting done it’s going to continue to get worse.”

Smith says she’s seen snakes and rats come into her backyard from the ditch.

“My husband has to spray our yard constantly,” Smith said. “He sprays like two times a week just for mosquitoes alone.”

Dorchester County says they could not provide an assessment of who owns this land because they have not seen it themselves.

They also provided this statement about the ditch concerns:

Dorchester County maintains and inspects ditches for debris blockage and structural problems to help manage the flow and quality of stormwater. Please understand that the county is not responsible for aesthetic, landscaping, or general upkeep and is only responsible for ensuring adequate flow and removing blockages for county ditches, not for town, city, or private ditches. If you have questions regarding the qualifications for county ditch maintenance, please call our Public Works Operations Department at 843-832-0070.

“They should be able to keep track of what ditches they do when and just have it on a rotational basis,” Neff said.

The county says they have spoken with Neff numerous times about her specific request and have informed her that it’s her son’s property that he must upkeep.

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