Is SC’s ‘Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake’ a real place? Here’s what the owner said
About ten miles from the heart of downtown Columbia is a serene lake that a certain class of fisherman go to in order to get away from it all and do what they love.
“Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake” is more of a big pond than a lake.
While the name is something of a mystery to the pond’s owner, the odd title has grabbed some online attention and has official backing.
Tracy LaPointe has worked for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health for 20 years and has never heard the name “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake” in her life, she said.
“We call it the pond at Morris Village,” said LaPointe, the spokesperson for the department.
It’s also called the “Morris Village Pond.” In documents from the mental health department, the body of water is sometimes referred to as the “Village Lake.”
The Department of Mental Health owns the pond, which is adjacent to Morris Village, a state run addiction rehabilitation center. It’s not much of a stretch to speculate that the nickname “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake” probably stems from the pond’s proximity to a rehab center.
A Wikipedia article about “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake” began circulating on Twitter, and people began contacting a reporter for The State about the name, asking if it was a real place. While viewing the Wikipedia article’s creator isn’t possible, the article was updated on Thursday.
The pond is fed by Crane Creek, a tributary that flows into the Broad River. Findlakes.com said crews finished the man-made pond in 1973. The body of water covers about 93 acres and is 32 feet deep, according to Find Lakes.
While the Department of Mental Health may not call the pond “Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake,” the United States Geological Survey has that name in its database of water features. The entry says that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers listed the “reservoir” in 1981 with “associated information.” The USGS lists an “Entry Date” for the pond as Sept. 1, 1992.
A USGS spokesperson said the name came from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “Dams and Reservoirs list” and that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names may know more history on the name. The State reached out to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names but did not hear back before publishing.
A 2018 article by the website Marijuana Moment refers to the USGS’s database as the source of the name but also misidentifies its location as being in “Richmond County, South Carolina.” The pond is actually in Richland County.
Because of the pond’s location, it is fenced and not open to the public, LaPointe said. The mental health department allows employees, retired workers and family of workers to fish in the pond if they get a permit. Maintenance crews for the department keep the pond up and recently stocked it with carp to eat plants that grow in the water. The space also has a covered picnic area for Morris Village patients and other mental health department employees.
While it might have a funny name to some, the pond and where it’s housed has a serious purpose.
“The mission of Morris Village is to provide effective and efficient treatment of alcohol and other drug addictions through comprehensive assessment, safe detoxification, and evidenced based treatment services to the citizens of South Carolina,” says the center’s website. “Our staff respects the dignity and rights of patients and promotes their return to normal, productive lives in their community. We are committed to professionalism, quality, and excellence.”
A statewide council envisioned Morris Village in 1963, according to its website. It opened in 1975 and became the state’s primary inpatient addiction treatment center.
The center’s “design was based on the Therapeutic Community Model,” LaPointe said, “which emphasizes the therapeutic power of groups. 14 cottages surround centrally located community functions such as the barber shop, library, and canteen. Services include medical care, group therapy, activity therapy, family education and therapy, preparation for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), relapse prevention planning, and case management.”
LaPointe said she wasn’t sure how many patients visit the pond, but “I have visited before and it is a beautiful and serene location. I imagine anyone receiving medical care would find such a location to be calming and enjoyable.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 5:30 AM.