South Carolina: Flood & Recovery

Ongoing coverage of South Carolina's recovery from the flooding of 2015.What had been Lindsay Langdale's Columbia home October 3, 2015 was a flooded ruin the next day.This coverage is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In October of 2015, South Carolina received rainfall in unprecedented amounts over just a few days time. By the time the rain began to slacken, the National Weather Service reported that the event had dumped more than two feet of water on the state. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the subsequent flooding was the worst in 75 years.

Little Jackson Creek Restoration to Improve Water Quality, Flood Abatement

South Carolina Public Radio | By Vince Kolb-Lugo

Published June 24, 2016 at 2:40 PM EDT

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The berms in the picture above stand almost 30 ft. at points, and disconnect the creek from its historic flood plain. Ordinarily, water would break the bank and go into the flood plain. In its current form, water is forced down the channel where it picks

Vince Kolb-Lugo/SC Public Radio

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Vince Kolb-Lugo/SC Public Radio

In northeast Columbia, a stream is no longer doing what it should be. Years of development have transformed Little Jackson Creek from a meandering stream to a channelized chute disconnected from its historic flood plain. Richland County is in the process of restoring the creek and ten acres of surrounding wetlands. Once complete, the project will contribute to flood abatement and improve water quality. South Carolina Public Radio’s Vince Kolb-Lugo speaks with Richland County Conservationist Quinton Epps, Senior Project Manager with WK Dickson, Ward Marotti, and Gills Creek Watershed Association Director, Erich Miarka, about the impact to this type of project will have on Gills Creek Watershed.

Improving Water Quality

Water quality was negatively affected during last October’s flood. How? Looking at Little Jackson Creek, you can see Two Notch Road runs parallel to it. Along the Two Notch side is what has been historically called the up-ditch.

The up-ditch stretches about 3,500 ft. and it receives storm water runoff from the adjacent developed sites. Water from the up-ditch flows through a connecting pipe and discharges directly into Little Jackson Creek.

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LISTEN: Senior Project Manager, Ward Marotti explains how restoring Little Jackson Creek will affect water quality in the area.

One sign of good water quality in a given location: bugs.

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LISTEN: Ward Marotti explains why more benthic macroinvertebrates in the watershed is a good thing.

Slithering Sinuosity

Also negatively affecting water quality is sedimentation, or the concentration of particles suspended in water. High levels of silt in water can have dire consequences for the ecology of a river and the aquatic life inhabiting it.

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LISTEN: Director of the Richland County Conservation Department, Quinton Epps, explains how adding bends and curves back to Little Jackson Creek helps prevent erosion and lessen the amount of sediment suspended in the creek.

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LISTEN: Ward Marotti explains how sheer stress contributes to bank erosion.

Restoration in Action: Oconaluftee Island Park Restoration in Cherokee, NC

The Oconaluftee Island Park Restoration Project integrated WK Dickson’s large-scale river restoration experience with a unique park design approach to significantly improve the most often visited outdoor resource within the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee Reservation). Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Oconaluftee Island Park (Island Park) is 1.5 miles from Smokey Mountain National Park’s boundary and 2.5 miles downstream from its Oconaluftee Visitor Center and primary southern entrance (US 441). Smokey Mountain National Park is the United States’ most visited National Park.

For decades the Island Park has experienced significant erosion and “lost” over an acre to the Oconaluftee River’s strong storm flows. Significant erosion has occurred both on the island itself, as well as along the Oconaluftee’s outside banks, which are immediately adjacent to US 441 and Tsali Blvd. One of the main causes for this significant amount of erosion is the amount of foot traffic and lack of woody bank vegetation within the park. Prior to the Island Park Restoration, visitors could access the river at any point and grass turf, as well as exposed soil, were the river banks’ primary cover. The island’s upstream point experienced significant erosion regularly, even from minor storm events. The upstream pavilion was regularly undercut and fill materials had to be brought in frequently to both prevent failure of its concrete foundation, as well as ensure public safety.

The Restoration Project used large-scale in-river structures to redirect flows, reduce velocity and sheer stress, and stabilize rapidly eroding banks. By re-designing trail alignments, adding aesthetically pleasing but exclusionary fencing, and regrading and planting eroding banks, it also ensured that the resorted river banks would remain intact for decades of visitors to enjoy. The project used over 2,000 tons of large boulders (4’x5’x8’) to construct nearly half a mile of structures within the Oconaluftee River. Using Tribal Construction staff and WK Dickson construction oversight, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was able to complete this large scale project for considerably less than it would have cost had the construction gone out for bid.

Because of its heavy public use, especially during the summer months, the river restoration and park re-design involved significant community and stakeholder involvement, including public meetings and direct interaction with numerous Tribal departments. The result is an aesthetically pleasing, publically accessible park that, while in the center of one of the Smokey Mountains’ most beautiful rivers and fast-moving rivers, is protected from storm flow degradation.