'It's stressful' | Harrisburg neighbors say nearby river flooding during heavy rains continues to worry them

HARRISBURG, N.C. — Following the heavy storm Tuesday and with more rain headed our way, neighbors in a Cabarrus County community are sharing their concerns about ongoing flooding that happens in their neighborhood.

Riverside Drive and Astor Drive in the Town of Harrisburg are prone to flooding, and neighbors there are begging for change. They want town leaders to act so they can protect their loved ones and their homes from future damage.

“It was a close call,” said Chris Greer, who saw the water reach halfway up to his fence Tuesday.

Across town, several areas were flooded after hours of steady rain. Town officials said they had all hands on deck and were prepared for the worst. There were two extraction rescues in the storm and reported no injuries. 

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Greer, who moved in to the Harrisburg Estates community two years ago, said he loves his home and the neighbors he’s gotten to know but says the area is prone to flooding, which he worries about.

“Every time it rains, we get a decent storm — is it going to flood?” said Greer. “That is always in the back of our mind. It’s stressful.”

Flooding is not a new problem for those who live in Harrisburg Estates, which is located near the Rocky River. Michael Howard said he has been dealing with this for 30 years. He showed WCNC Charlotte pictures from a flood back in 2008, where the water reached the roof of his home. He adds that every one to two years, the river overflows.

“It was a foot below their window right there,” said Howard, referring to one of his neighbor’s homes. “So, it was almost head high if you were standing at their back porch.”

Howard said the flooding threatens their homes and their families in more ways than one. He specifically noted the flooding can leave vulnerable people trapped in their homes.

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“If somebody has an emergency in here, emergency vehicles can’t get in,” Howard said.

Harrisburg Estates is an older neighborhood, and Town Manager Robert Donham said several of the homes were built in the flood plain. He said this is the reason the town has swift water rescue teams for emergencies.

“As the river swells, it is going to go to its bank. There is no real way to contain a river floodway — that is where the water is designed to go,” said Donham. “The way to avoid that is to not build into it, which is a regulation we’ve had now for 20 years.”

Some people who live in the area believe the developments in the town also make it worse. However, Donham said that is not the case because of strong water regulations.

“If there’s 100 units of water running off of that site before, when they build that neighborhood they have to keep that same number, so they have to build retention ponds and water treatments on site to both treat the quantity coming off and the quality coming off,” said Donham, who adds that in many cases the new developments tend to help the flooding issue because generally they don’t hit that retention dead on, but instead overdesign.

Town officials say there isn’t much that can be done. It’s not something neighbors want to hear.

“Raise this road up and do some retention ponds,” Howard suggested.

“They can probably get some civil engineers, straighten out, do something with the river back there,” said Greer. “Knock out some of the corners, get rid of the bottlenecks,”

Neighbors said they will continue to work to find solutions to this ongoing problem.

Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.