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'I was totally shocked' | Flooded Lancaster home draws concern from community asking why it was sold

The man living next door said the flooding is a years-long issue that is impacting his home too, but his calls for help have gone largely unanswered.

LANCASTER, S.C. — Twenty years living on Country Club Drive have brought a lot of joy to Dean Webster and his family, but there's one problem their happy home just can't seem to shake.

The Websters have seen "quite a bit" of flooding, according to Dean, who told WCNC Charlotte it has been a costly dilemma over the years with no quick solution in sight.

“Just changed an air conditioning was around $9,000, probably," Webster said.

It's why, when he saw a new house being built next door Webster said, "I was totally shocked."

Arbor Construction Group, which sold the home, said it first flooded last summer before anyone moved in.

Webster snapped photos of the damage at that time, showing the vacant home partially submerged and surrounded by water high enough to cover roughly half of the garage.

Late last year, a couple purchased the home, fully aware of the flooding issue, according to the sellers. 

But images of the home flooding again after strong storms Tuesday have drawn criticism from the community online, with people wondering why the house was sold in the first place.

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"We are saddened to hear what happened to the [homeowners'] home, as well as countless other homes throughout the Carolinas, because of this record-setting rain event. Arbor Construction does not believe anything it did or did not do, contributed to the damage to the home. With that said, it is our practice to help our customers when we can do so, and this matter is no different. This home is not in the flood plain, but we did show the homeowners the damage this summer after which SCDOT came out to 'repair' the culvert situation, and told us it was resolved. Because we are still assessing the situation, it would be improper to comment further at this time," the sellers said in a statement.

Webster said he also reached out to the South Carolina Department of Transportation for help, after flooding issues in the past.

“We tried to get the state to do something about it then, but they said it was too costly," Webster said. "It was never going to happen, to forget about it, basically."

WCNC Charlotte reached out to SCDOT which said its crews recently inspected and cleaned the drainage infrastructure near the property and found it functioning normally. The agency added that it is aware of the issue and will review the matter.

The owners of the flooded home declined to comment but thanked the community for their concern. The sellers say they're working with the owners on the next steps.

As flooding concerns continue, Webster is hoping rain expected later this week won't be too heavy, so it doesn't create more costly damage for the families living in the area.

Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on FacebookX and Instagram.

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