Beginning on Thursday, December 22, 2022, the City of Columbia began experiencing the effects of Winter Storm Elliott which brought bitterly cold winds and temperatures to our area.
The Columbia-Richland Fire Department, Columbia Police Department, and Columbia Water all began to receive an uptick in call volumes on Thursday, December 22, 2022. Most of these calls were brought on by the freezing temperatures and high winds.
Due to these weather conditions, there was a high volume of calls related to water flow problems as water lines were starting to burst because of the freezing temperatures. Our departments also received calls regarding power lines and structured buildings collapsing due to falling trees and high winds, as well as several miscellaneous weather-related calls.
Several large buildings in the City of Columbia were impacted by freezing and broken water pipes on Christmas day including the Christopher Towers (1805 Devine St.), Tapps Building (1544 Main St.), Sheraton Hotel (1400 Main St.), Berringer Building (1338 Main St.), Gervais Station at 5 Points (2025 Gervais St.) and the Columbia Police Department Annex Building (715 Bluff Rd.).
The extended cold weather throughout the weekend created significant challenges for our water system in the City of Columbia. The water flow in the system increased by approximately 34 million gallons per day (MGD), which is among the highest rates we have experienced in the past 10 years. These numbers are similar to a summer drought condition in the City.
Several factors that led to increased water usage were the breaking of several water main lines and large leaks at commercial/industrial properties. In addition, residential structures also experienced water line breaks and customers were trying to prevent freezing pipes by dripping or running their faucets, which increased water usage.
Due to the high demand in localized areas, some residents experienced very low to no water pressure at times throughout the weekend. In addition to constant repairs to the water system, Columbia Water sent several boil water advisories and alerted our residents through social media on how they could limit their usage while preventing freezing types at their homes & businesses.
As temperatures started to warm up after Sunday, December 25, 2022, Columbia Water experienced additional leak reports and continued to make repairs created by the unusual wintery weather from Winter Storm Elliott.