In May of 2024 EHP completed the review of a Public Assistance grant fund project to repair the historic Columbia Canal located in Columbia, South Carolina. The canal, built in the 1820s to bypass the rapids where the Broad and Saluda Rivers join to form the Congaree River, was later repurposed in the 1890s as a hydroelectric industrial power source. It was listed in the National Register of Historic places in 1979. Due to a catastrophic flooding event in 2015, the canal was breached. The original repair project from 2016 included repairs to the breach in-kind. In 2023, the project was updated to include repairs to the breach and additional enhancements to strengthen the embankments throughout the canal.
Through the Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) grant, FEMA was able to fund an additional project to build a new water supply intake for the canal. Both projects as proposed, would have impacts to the historic canal and its associated resources based on the BRIC review. It was completed in November of 2023. A compliance review included a phase I archaeological and geo-archaeological survey to help identify potential archaeological resources within the project areas for the canal and the water supply intake projects. After further review, both projects were determined to have an adverse effect to historic properties.
Outcome
Our teams worked directly with the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, the local emergency management division, representatives with the City of Columbia, and members of the public and volunteer groups to provide technical guidance and unique solutions to these projects. Through this partnership, agreements were drafted to include a Conditions Assessment and Treatment Plans for historic buildings. This applied to the historic waterworks complex and 1896 hydroelectric plant.
Plans include additional archaeological surveys and monitoring will take place in sensitive areas, including an area that might contain a buried dugout canoe. Information gathered included a photogrammetric survey of an 1894 powerhouse, an archaeological data recovery of the original early 19th century canal bulkhead, and a drone survey of the canal before and after the repair project.
The City of Columbia will be able to use data compiled from surveys, assessments, and treatment plans for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requirements in connection to Section 106 requirements. This will support the hydroelectric portion of the project.
