Know your water 🌊

Being the smart Soda Citizens y’all are, we know you like to stay informed about the cool things happening in your city, like this:

You can check the water quality of our streams, the water levels of our rivers + find out if certain areas are going to flood – all online.

How would you use this, you ask?

It’s been raining all week, and now you’re itching to get outside + take a jog on the Riverwalk. Is it flooded? There’s a website for that.

You’re planning to tube the river and bring your dog along for the ride. Which parts of the Congaree have the least amount of bacteria? There’s a website for that.

You left your car in Five Points after dinner last night and a storm’s a brewin’. Do you need to go get it before a flash flood hits? There’s another website for that.

Rivers + creeks + lakes, oh my.

The Midlands Rivers Coalition takes weekly samples May-June (a.k.a prime river floating season) from 11 different sites on the Lower Saluda, Broad + Congaree Rivers to check for bacteria – just to make sure the water quality is healthy before you jump in. That information is available to public at any time.

But let’s dive a little deeper into our waterways...

Streams

The City of Columbia operates 12 monitoring stations on streams throughout downtown Columbia. Why streams? When it rains, these smaller streams around town are the ones that flood quicker. The city uses some of the most advanced technology to collect real-time data on rainfall + stream levels, and within minutes of rainfall city personnel can view the data from literally anywhere (that has an internet connection) to see if there may be issues in areas prone to flash flooding – i.e. Five Points. Looking at you, Saluda + Blossom.

With this data, the city can also view water quality of the streams. Dumping or a spill in the stream can be detected + emergency response initiated hours (or even days) earlier than if these monitoring stations didn’t exist.

In the very near future, this data will be available to the public through the city’s Open Data Initiative – connecting Soda Citizens to the waterways in their community.

A USGS site on a stream that’s particularly cool is one near Whaley’s Mill, because it has a real-time camera where you can see what’s going on there when it rains.

The Congaree River
Fun fact: The Saluda River + Broad River converge to create the Congaree River. As you cross over the 1-26 bridge in + out of Cola, you can see the muddy Broad on one side + the clear Saluda on the other. It’s kinda cool looking.

If it’s been raining all week, and you’re itching to get outside + take a jog on the Riverwalk the first day the sun reemerges, check out this USGS site to see if the Riverwalk flooded.

If you’re planning a little weekend camping trip to Congaree National Park, check this USGS site before going – to make sure your sleeping bag isn’t going to be waterbed.

Saluda River

Fun fact: Water in the Saluda River comes from the bottom of Lake Murray; that’s why even on a famously hot day, the river is only 50-60º.

If you’re planning a kayaking adventure, check this USGS site to see if they’ve released enough water for ideal paddling. The SCE&G website will also let you know how much water is currently being released + what the plans are for future water releases.

Rather tube down the river than work those arm muscles? This USGS site will let you know the river status, just upstream from Riverbanks Zoo.

The Saluda River also has a unique trout population – which you can catch + keep, because DNR keeps them stocked up. However, a new law was just signed establishing a 2 mile catch-and -release only zone on the Saluda, which goes into effect on July 1.

Broad River

Remember when we just mentioned how muddy the Broad River is? This USGS site will tell you the water levels, along with the turbidity (a.k.a how muddy the water is).

The Broad River is also home to several populations of Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies – a rare aquatic flower that only grows in a handful of places in the world (S.C., Ga., and Ala.). Blooming season is May-June, meaning we’re in the peak bloom right now + we’ve got the Spider Lily Happy Hour (with the Congaree Riverkeeper + Bierkeller Columbia) at Riverfront Park every Tuesday in May to learn more.

Also, when you’re hanging out around the Broad River – make sure to look up. It’s pretty common for people to see osprey (fish-eating birds) diving for fish in the river. If you’re super lucky, you may see a bald eagle. There’s a bald eagle’s nest where the Broad + Saluda meet.

Gills Creek

If you’re familiar with Columbia’s thousand year historic floods that took place in 2015, you know a lot about Gills Creek – home to another site important to keep an eye on if you live in the Forest Acres/Shandon area, especially since the water levels rise super fast with a heavy rain.

Lake Murray

Is the water so choppy you’ll bounce right out of the boat? Is the water clean enough that you’ll be okay if you accidentally inhale some of the lake? Is your boat going to bottom out + get you stuck in the mud? All perfectly logical questions hypochondriac/OCD people like me.

Use this site to see wind speed, water quality + water levels on Lake Murray. Checking it the day before #SundayFunday on the lake can help you plan accordingly.

Thanks to the Congaree Riverkeeper, the Stormwater Manager for City of Columbia, an Environmental Scientist from Woolpert (who collects + interprets water data for the City) + a Sales Rep for YSI/Xylem (a.k.a my husband, who sells the aforementioned people their water quality products) for helping us compile everything you need to need know about your water in the Midlands.

And now that we know how to check water quality, water levels, wind speeds, etc. – onto a more important question: Are there alligators in the river? According to the Congaree Riverkeeper, yes. 😳But don’t let it scare you. Most of the gators are spotted downstream from the I-77 bridge on the Congaree, but they are sometimes spotted in the Broad River, near Riverfront Park + the Columbia Canal (You don’t see them in the Saluda, probably because of that cold water).

Make sure you bookmark this story – or forward this email to your friends – for your next water adventure.

See ya on the waterways,

–Sam