The City of Columbia + Columbia Water held a press briefing giving Columbians an update on the progress of restoring the historic Columbia Canal. The canal has needed repairs since the historic flooding in 2015 and the restoration will be done in three projects. Construction will begin in December and aim to wrap up in December 2027.
The completion of these projects aims to bring the Columbia Canal and Hydroelectric Generating Station back to full operation.
The three projects
The headgates will be replaced
- Costing ~$12 million, the headgates — which allow water into the canal — will be partially funded by a Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Program Mitigation grant.
The Embankment Repair project
- Costing ~ $60 million, the restoration of the hydroelectric generating station will be funded through a combination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance program + the state of SC.
The Resilient Water Supply project
- Costing ~$46.6M, this 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 and will mostly be funded through a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant.
