Greenville County HOA pond report: due January 31

General information, not legal advice. Your recorded maintenance agreement and the County have the final word. Independent guide, not affiliated with Greenville County.

The rule, in the County's words

Greenville County Code § 8-84 says the responsible parties and/or manager of the property responsible for maintaining stormwater management facilities and/or BMPs:

"shall document the inspection, maintenance and repair activities performed annually and shall submit an annual report of these activities to the County by January 31 of each year for the prior calendar year and shall keep copies of those inspections on record for future verification by the County for a period of at least five years. Those records shall be made available to the County upon request." (County Code § 8-84)

So the report due January 31, 2027 covers calendar year 2026. (County Code § 8-84)

Who must file

• The responsible parties and/or the property manager responsible for maintaining the stormwater facility or BMP. (County Code § 8-84)
• Usually the HOA. The County's residential HOA maintenance agreement requires the facilities to be "constructed and adequately maintained by the Landowner, its successors and assigns, including any homeowner’s association" (County HOA maintenance agreement, preamble), and says "The Landowner, its heirs, successors and assigns, shall inspect the storm water management facility and submit an inspection report annually." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 3) It binds later owners, "including any homeowners association." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 11)
  • The County's Detention Ponds page says: "In the majority of cases, the HOA or commercial property owner are solely responsible for the correct operation and maintenance of the detention pond." (County Detention Ponds page)
• No HOA? Then "all owners of property which is designed to drain to a particular storm water management facility … shall be equally responsible for inspection, maintenance, and repair" of that facility. (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 11)
• Commercial sites: § 8-84 applies to any responsible party, not just HOAs. The Detention Ponds page also addresses "the manager of a commercial site." (County Code § 8-84; County Detention Ponds page)
• The agreement is recorded with the Register of Deeds and "shall constitute a covenant running with the land," so it passes to later owners and the HOA. (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 11)
• Where it applies: the County's stormwater ordinance says it applies "throughout the unincorporated areas of Greenville County and within any Municipality that chooses to participate as a Co-Permittee with the County in its NPDES permit." (County Code § 8-55(d)) The County's 2026 stormwater permit lists Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Travelers Rest with the County. (County MS4 permit SCS230001 p.1) The City of Greenville and Greer aren't listed, so ask your city.

How often to inspect

• The County Code says to inspect "at the frequencies listed in the maintenance agreement, SWPPP, or the Stormwater Management Design Manual (whichever applies)." (County Code § 8-82)
• The County's maintenance record form says inspections "should be done Semi-Annually after Vegetation Maintenance has been completed and after any LARGE Rain events." (County maintenance record form, p.2)
• The HOA agreement adds that if the approved plans include a maintenance schedule (including sediment removal), "the schedule will be followed." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 6)

What goes in the report

Required content (from the Code and the agreement):

• The year's inspection, maintenance and repair activities, documented. (County Code § 8-84)
• The inspection must cover the whole facility: "The inspection shall cover the entire facilities, berms, outlet structure, pond areas, access roads, etc. Deficiencies shall be noted in the inspection report." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 3)
• Maintenance includes the conveyances: "all pipes, channels or other conveyances built to convey storm water to the facility." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 2)

What the County's own form asks for. The County publishes a "Dry Detention Basin Operation Inspection and Maintenance Record" (Revised 8.1.2025). (County maintenance record form)

• Header fields: inspection date/year, site name, property owner, tax map # of the BMP, location of the detention basin, basin ID, inspector name, and permit # if known. (County maintenance record form, p.1)
• Items to check: (County maintenance record form, pp.1–2)
  • Main pond area: trash and debris, mowing, sediment, erosion, weeds and woody debris, the riser and trash rack, and standing water more than 72 hours after rain
  • Embankment, dam and emergency spillway: burrows, cracks or slides; obstructions; leaks or seeps
  • Inlet and outlet pipes: headwalls and endwalls, erosion, vegetation, clogging, cracks
  • Forebay, if there is one: remove sediment "when 30% of capacity is filled"
• The form says: "Any storm water management facility element shall be corrected, repaired, and/or replaced immediately." (County maintenance record form, p.1)

How and where to submit

• Ask the County's Land Development Division before January 31:
  • Greenville County Land Development Division, 301 University Ridge, Suite S-3300, Greenville, SC 29601 · 864-467-4610 · landdevelopment@greenvillecounty.org (County Land Development page)
  • The HOA agreement form shows the older suite number "Ste. 3900", so use the address on the Land Development page. (County HOA maintenance agreement, p.1; County Land Development page)
• Keep a copy of what you send, and proof of when you sent it. Keep inspection records at least 5 years and make them available to the County on request. (County Code § 8-84)

What happens if the pond isn't maintained, or the rules aren't followed

Under the HOA maintenance agreement:

• The County may enter to inspect "whenever the County deems necessary," for example to follow up on reported deficiencies or complaints, and give "a directive to commence with the repairs if necessary." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 4)
• If the facilities aren't kept in good working condition, the County, "with due notice, may enter upon the property and take whatever steps necessary to correct deficiencies" and charge the cost to the owner or HOA. (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 5)
• The owner must reimburse within 30 days. If it isn't paid, "the County shall secure a lien against the real property … and may be placed on the ad valorem tax bill." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 7)
• The County "is under no obligation to routinely maintain or repair" the facilities. (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 5)

Under the County's stormwater ordinance (Greenville County Code Ch. 8, Art. III; Ord. 5716, July 15, 2025):

• Ponds not maintained: "If the County determines at any time that any permanent storm water management facilities and/or Best Management Practices have been eliminated, altered or improperly maintained, the Responsible Parties responsible for maintenance shall be issued a Notice of Violation by mail." If the work isn't done, the County, "after thirty (30) days of the Notice", may do it and charge the cost, "which shall become a lien on the property." (County Code § 8-85)
• Notice of Violation: it "shall specify: the nature of the Violation, the potential penalty, if applicable, the corrective action required … and the amount of time in which to correct deficiencies, if appropriate." (County Code § 8-111)
• Criminal: "The County has the authority to charge any person violating any provision of this Ordinance with a misdemeanor punishable within the jurisdictional limits of magistrate’s court. Each day of a Violation shall constitute a new and separate offense." (County Code § 8-112)
• Civil: "the County has the authority to assess a civil penalty of not more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500.00) per Violation against any person who has violated any provision of this Ordinance. Each separate day of a Violation constitutes a new and separate Violation. A person assessed a civil penalty under this section may appeal the assessment to the Magistrate Court." (County Code § 8-117)
• The County may fix it: "Greenville County, or its contractor, may enter upon the lot or parcel of land and correct the Violation," with the costs collected from security "or shall become a lien upon the property." (County Code § 8-114)

Money: the escrow account

The HOA agreement requires an escrow account of "$1.000.00 per SW facility/pond" [sic], "supplemented annually with a sinking fund from homeowner association dues or Landowner payments in accordance with an anticipated maintenance schedule." (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 9)

• The form prints "$1.000.00", most likely meaning $1,000.00.

Checklist for HOA boards and managers

• Find your recorded maintenance agreement and the approved plans or SWPPP. Note the inspection frequency and any maintenance schedule. (County Code § 8-82; County HOA maintenance agreement, item 6)
• List every pond or BMP the HOA is responsible for, with its tax map # and an ID. (County maintenance record form, p.1)
• Make sure each one was inspected during the year, covering the whole facility: berms, outlet structure, pond areas, access roads, pipes and channels. (County HOA maintenance agreement, items 2, 3)
• Note each deficiency and what was done to fix it. (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 3; County maintenance record form)
• Gather maintenance and repair records for the year: mowing, debris and sediment removal, erosion repair, riser and outlet work. (County Code § 8-84)
• Check the escrow account and the year's sinking-fund contribution. (County HOA maintenance agreement, item 9)
• Ask Land Development (864-467-4610) how to submit and whether they want a particular form. (County Land Development page)
• Submit by January 31 for the prior calendar year. (County Code § 8-84)
• File copies of the report and inspections for at least 5 years. (County Code § 8-84)
• Put next year's inspections on the calendar (semi-annual and after large storms, unless your agreement says otherwise). (County maintenance record form, p.2; County Code § 8-82)

Also useful from the County:

• "A Citizen’s Guide to Maintaining Stormwater Best Management Practices For Homeowners Associations and Property Owners", an HOA guide linked from the County's Detention Ponds page (County HOA guide)
• The Detention Ponds page itself (County Detention Ponds page)

Getting help

Some HOAs do the inspection and paperwork themselves. The County's HOA guide says, "Inspections can be done by anyone interested in the task, but volunteer inspectors should be detail-oriented and willing to commit time and energy toward the effort." Others hire help, such as a pond maintenance company, a post-construction BMP inspector, or, where the agreement, the County or the work calls for it, a licensed professional engineer. We haven't confirmed who may sign the annual report, so ask the County before you hire anyone for it.

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