Rising Congaree River closes part of West Columbia’s riverwalk. Here’s what to know
Rising floodwaters from the swollen Congaree River caused West Columbia to close off portions of the city’s riverwalk north of the Gervais Street bridge on Friday morning.
“The portion of the West Columbia Riverwalk from the Moffatt Street Entrance, 100 Riverside Drive, to the West Columbia Amphitheater is temporarily closed due to flooding,” an email notice from the city said Friday morning.
The amphitheater is on West Columbia’s side of the Gervais Street bridge from downtown Columbia.
The riverwalk, which attracts nature-lovers, dog-walkers, cyclists and joggers, will reopen when the waters go down and city crews have a chance to clean up any debris, a city spokeswoman said.
Recent heavy rains in the Columbia area are one major cause of the higher river level, said Bill Stangler, the Congraree riverkeeper, on Friday.
“We did get a lot of lot of rain yesterday, and that’s working its way down the watershed, both from the Broad and Saluda rivers,” Stangler said. (The Broad and Saluda rivers merge just north of the Columbia to form the Congaree River.)
Also, a release from the Lake Murray dam due to rising waters added to rising water levels, Stangler said.
“We should probably see the Congaree River crest this afternoon,” he said.
Friday’s forecast for central South Carolina is for scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, with a few of the storms becoming strong to severe, according to the National Weather Service.
As rising waters go, this is not major, Stangler said.
“This is what I would call, ‘it rained a decent amount but nothing too crazy’ — kind of standard, low-level flooding,” he said.
Mike Dawson, head of the River Alliance, said that portion of the riverwalk was built in the early 2000s.
“When the river rises, the walk gets flooded, and the city in good caution, closes it down,” Dawson said. The River Alliance is a non-profit Columbia-based corporation dedicated to bringing people to the rivers in Richland and Lexington counties.
