Decision to not restore lake not sitting well with residents

BLYTHEWOOD, SC (WIS) - Nearly 15 years ago, Harriet Moyd would wake up every morning to a nice view of Lake Elizabeth, but now she wakes up to overgrown weeds and puddles.

"Basically, it's just a mosquito breeding ground," said Moyd.

After thinking it over for about a year, the homeowners association sent a letter to the Department of Health and Environmental Control saying "HOA has decided not to restore our lake and instead return it to natural wetlands." The decision comes after the lake's dam broke during October's flood causing the water to damage a portion of Wilson Boulevard.

"I feel like they're letting the community down," Moyd said.

DHEC regulates Lake Elizabeth and said it was HOA's responsibility to come up with a plan to repair it. Now, DHEC is awaiting a plan from the HOA to restore the area to natural wetlands

"My terminology on it would be it's a nice cow pasture," said Danny Brown, who said he would often go fishing and enjoy the view of the lake from his backyard.

"What we're looking at now is overgrown weeds and this would die down in the winter," Brown said.

Brown said he would love to have the lake back, but he also believes the homeowners' association should not have been responsible for repairs.

"It's not fair," he said. "It's not fair at all. It's injustice to everybody's concern."

Meanwhile, Wilson Boulevard still needs to be repaired. The South Carolina Department of Transportation previously said they wouldn't repair the road until the dam was fixed.

Estimates on repairing the dam range from $500,000 up to $1 million. The homeowners' association said they do not have the money to repair the dam.

Since the dam will not be fixed, residents are now waiting to hear what DOT will do to fix the road.

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