Live updates: No threat to Columbia water; Congaree River to crest lower than in 2015

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

The Columbia area is watching its rivers today, as water dumped by Hurricane Helene makes its way to the area.

As officials and residents continue to watch the water, the area also takes stock of its recovery efforts and what remains to be done following a hurricane that left 27 dead, massive flooding and large swaths of South Carolina without power.

Across the Southeast, at least 128 people were killed in mishaps related to the storm, making it the third-deadliest hurricane in the last 50 years, according to CNN. At least 10 states received damage from Helene, with parts of North Carolina especially hard-hit.

Here’s the latest from the Midlands:

2:39 p.m.

West Columbia issued an update Monday afternoon clarifying that its water and sewer systems continue to operate normally.

“The Water Treatment Facilities are running as expected, with no anticipated service outages due to flooding. Furthermore, there are no expected interruptions in the wastewater collection system,” the city said in a news release, calling its services “dependable and uninterrupted.”

1:48 p.m.

Cayce continued to respond to flooding in the Riverland Park neighborhood Monday afternoon, asking the public to not attempt to access the area.

The city noted in an update to social media that residents in the low-lying neighborhood have been the only ones impacted by flooding from the Congaree River.

“Our Cayce staff: including but not limited to, our police and fire department, public works, wastewater and water treatment plants, and our parks department are all working around the clock to ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens,” Cayce said. “We do not anticipate additional evacuations; but if there are any changes, please know you will be contacted directly and in advance.”

On Sunday, city police went door-to-door to tell more than 100 neighborhood residents that a voluntary evacuation was in effect.

Cayce’s drinking water is safe to drink, the post added.

“Cayce Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants are self-contained and not at risk due to the rising river levels,” the city said. “Additionally, our water and wastewater plants are not being evacuated. They are not flooded.”

The Cayce Riverwalk and Timmerman Trail remain closed, and the city shared a picture of the Granby boat landing entrance to the riverwalk fully underwater.

The 12th Street Extension near the Amazon Distribution Center remains closed due to flooding, but neither the Blossom Street Bridge, the Gervais Street Bridge nor any other Columbia bridge across the Congaree is being considered for a closure.

The city said that as of noon, 235 households in Cayce were without power.

12:45 p.m

Columbia officials say they are not concerned about the Columbia Water system, which provides drinking water to more than 400,000 people across the Midlands. Despite high water levels in the Congaree and Broad rivers, there is no threat to drinking water in Columbia, City Manager Teresa Wilson stressed during a press briefing Monday.

Rumors have circulated on social media that the city’s drinking water was in imminent danger, with some online speculating that water service would be shut down, and that employees at the water treatment centers have been evacuated. Wilson said those rumors are wholly false. She and Assistant City Manager Clint Shealy, who oversees Columbia Water, said there is no threat of losing water service. There are no active boil water advisories and no broken water mains.

Shealy added that high water events can create more of a challenge to treat river water, but he said the city is “nailing the chemistry” and that he does not anticipate any problems with providing drinking water to residents now or as the water levels recede in coming days.

Elsewhere, the city is still working to clear downed trees and help Dominion Energy restore power to roughly 8,000 Columbia-households that were still without power as of 11 a.m. Monday.

It will take several weeks for city crews to clean up all of the mess created by Helene, added Public Works Director Robert Anderson. City crews responded to more than 200 calls for downed trees during and since the storm, Anderson said. As of late Monday morning, 20 roadways in Columbia were closed due to trees in the road.

The city is updating its list of closed roads on its website. Anderson added that residents who have branches or other storm debris can take it to Heathwood Park, Hyatt Park, Rosewood Park or Old Woodlands Park if they don’t want to wait for city crews.

12:28 p.m.

Multiple homes were flooded in Cayce’s Riverland Park around noon Monday, with local police having closed the neighborhood to through traffic.

The low-lying neighborhood took on water as the Congaree River crested in the morning at about 30.5 feet.

Law enforcement and crews from Dominion Energy and the S.C. Department of Transportation were on hand surveying the damage, as residents drove across yards to get around utility vehicles and through water that flowed across multiple streets.

The scene was a strange collision of upheaval and regular routine. Residents gathered and chatted on one stoop near the flooding. A woman was out walking her dog and taking pictures with her phone of the home next to hers, which had flooded. A little girl zipped around dry parts of the neighborhood on a scooter.

10:48 a.m.

President Joe Biden has issued a disaster declaration for South Carolina as it deals with the effects of Hurricane Helene.

Federal money will be available for affected people in Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Lexington, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, and Spartanburg counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, according to a news release from the White House.

Federal money also is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofits to help pay for emergency work in Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, and Spartanburg counties.

The White House added damage assessment is continuing the state and other areas and additional assistance may be designated for the state.

10:30 a.m.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the state’s anti-price gouging law was in effect after Gov. Henry McMaster issued a state of emergency.

Even though prices may fluctuate, it’s against the law for “unconscionable prices during times of disaster,” the attorney general’s office said in a news release.

The price gouging law is in effect until the governor’s state of emergency expires or is terminated. Price gougers can be charged for excessive pricing, a misdemeanor offense and face a $1,000 fine and/or 30 days in jail.

“We may see businesses and individuals looking to unfairly take advantage of the situation through price gouging of food, gasoline, lodging, and other commodities as defined by the statute. By our law, that’s a criminal violation and an unfair trade practice,” Wilson said in a news release.

10 a.m.

It looks like the Congaree River will crest slightly lower than it did during the “1,000 year flood” of 2015, but some low-lying residences are still feeling impacts.

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said Monday morning the city is being told that the river has crested at about 30.5 feet where it comes through the area, just shy of the 32 feet seen during the massive flooding event that crippled the Midlands nine years ago. He said that crest is likely to hold, with Dominion Energy giving word that it doesn’t plan to open an additional spill gate at the Lake Murray dam.

A Dominion spokesperson confirmed that the flow coming through the dam is still within normal operating limits, as it largely has been for the last several days. The utility company continues to monitor the situation.

The Saluda River exits Lake Murray, meeting up with the Broad River to form the Congaree River in Columbia. Water making its way down from the Upstate and western North Carolina, which were inundated with rain during the storm, is adding to the impact local waterways were already seeing from the storm.

Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler said if no additional flow is coming from Lake Murray, the 30.5 feet being seen Monday morning will likely be as high as it gets.

“It looks like the Broad is crested and or about to, and if they can hold off on releasing extra water from the Saluda, then this level that we’ve got kind of right now, or for the next hour, might be where that crest is,” he said.

The Congaree reaches major flood stage at 30 feet, and some residents are feeling impacts. Cayce implemented voluntary evacuations Sunday, as flood waters began to touch homes in the Riverland Park neighborhood.

Miles said a couple homes in Congaree Park, which runs along the city’s riverwalk, may have flooded. The riverwalk along with its attached amphitheater at the Gervais Street Bridge were underwater Monday morning.

Travel around the Midlands doesn’t look to be impacted by the Congaree River flooding. An S.C. Department of Transportation spokesperson said there are no plans to close any of the bridges crossing the river in Columbia.

9:30 a.m.

Midlands emergency officials closed boat ramps along a pair of Columbia rivers as waters continued tor rise to near-historic levels in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Columbia-Richland Fire Department announced in a night release from the sheriff’s department that they had made the joint decision to close the boat ramps along the Congaree and Broad rivers.

“Citizens are strongly encouraged to obey this order and remain clear of the water,” the sheriff’s department said in the release.

The Congaree River is expected to crest at about 31 feet on Monday, which is just short of the nearly 32 feet it reached during the devastating floods of 2015 in the Columbia area.

The sheriff’s department also noted that Lost Creek Drive is closed from Pond Oak Lane to Lake Front Drive due to flooding. Local traffic only is allowed off of Broad River and Hollingshed. Meanwhile, all City of Columbia Parks & Recreation Greenway Parks are closed to the public for safety precautions. the release said. This includes Riverfront Park North and South, and the Saluda Riverwalk.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Congaree River, officials in Cayce on Sunday urged residents in the low-lying Riverland Park neighborhood to evacuate as river waters were rising. Emergency personnel in Cayce went door-to-door in Riverland Park to speak with the residents about leaving amid the flooding.

Hurricane Helene ripped through the Carolinas Friday and dumped torrents of rain across the region. Local rivers began to rise as rivers and tributaries from upstream swelled after the storm.

This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 10:39 AM.

Jordan Lawrence

The State

Jordan Lawrence serves as metro editor for The State. He has worked for newspapers in the Columbia area for more than a decade, having previously served as the lead editor for Free Times and the Lexington County Chronicle. He has won several South Carolina Press Association Awards, including recognition for breaking news reporting, business reporting and arts and entertainment writing. Support my work with a digital subscription