Storm-Ravaged Columbia Continues Recovery Efforts

Massive cleanup in South Carolina highlights the power of teamwork and community in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin. But there's still much work to be done.

Dec 14, 2015 | by Paul Nicolaus |

Columbia Flooding Pumps W1000 — An aerial view showing the two sets of bypass pumps that were serving the City of Columbia Canal Water Treatment Plant while levels in the Columbia Canal were stabilized after the Canal levy breached. The background pumps in front of the raw water pump station were set up first to draw water from the canal at water levels lower than the raw water pump station was able to access. The foreground pumps were set up later to draw water directly from the Broad River.

Some areas of the East Coast are still reeling from a historic rain event that hit the region in early October. South Carolina — and particularly its state capital — took the brunt of the storm, and now the City of Columbia is looking at long-term repair work and associated costs."We did go into emergency response mode early on in the storm,” says Joey Jaco, director of utilities and engineering with the City of Columbia. "We did have some issues with pressure in the system due to a number of water main breaks, which caused us to issue a systemwide boil water advisory until

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