The City of Columbia and its water utility, Columbia Water, are pleased to announce significant progress on the repair and recovery of the historic Columbia Canal. The press conference took place today, October 4, at the plaza at Edventure Children’s Museum overlooking the Canal and the City’s Hydroelectric Generating Station.
“We are so pleased to report this progress and to soon begin construction of the repairs to our beautiful and historic Columbia Canal,” said Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann. “We can’t overstate our gratitude to our elected officials and federal, state and local partners for helping us secure funding and to the consulting professionals and City staff for their tireless efforts to get us to this point.”
The recovery of the Canal has been a top priority for the City and Columbia Water since the devastating flood in October of 2015. Speakers at the briefing included:
- Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann
- City Manager Teresa Wilson
- Assistant City Manager of Columbia Water Clint Shealy
- South Carolina Emergency Management Division Chief of Staff Steve Batson
- United States Congressman Joe Wilson
The recovery of the Columbia Canal consists of three important projects, each with separate funding sources. The replacement of the headgates that allow water into the Canal is being partially funded by a Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Program Mitigation grant. The total cost of this project is approximately $12M.
The Embankment Repair project, which will rebuild the Canal in the area of the breach, repair areas of scour along the embankment wall upstream of the breach and restore the hydroelectric generating station to operation will cost approximately $60M and will be funded through a combination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance program and State of South Carolina resources.
The Resilient Water Supply project will provide an alternate water intake directly on the Congaree River, supplying up to 80 million gallons per day of water to the Canal Water Treatment Plant. The anticipated cost of this project is $46.6M, with $32.6M of funding through a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant.
The sum of these projects will bring the Columbia Canal and Hydroelectric Generating Station back to full operation, restore and honor the history and natural beauty of the Columbia Canal and Riverfront Park, and improve the reliability and resilience of the critically important water supply for our community. The first construction work is scheduled to start in December of 2024, with all work completed on or before December of 2027.
City Manager Teresa Wilson reflects on the devastating impacts of the 2015 flood and the impacts that are still visible today.
Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann projects on what the future looks like for the Columbia area once the project in complete.
Assistant City Manager of Columbia Water Clint Shealy details the phases of the recovery project and the many partners involved.
(left to right) Mayor Pro-Tem Will Brennan, City Councilman Tyler Bailey, Assistant City Manager Clint Shealy, U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson, City Manager Teresa Wilson, Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann, South Carolina Emergency Management Division Chief of Staff Steve Batson