COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Ten years after the “Thousand Year Flood” devastated Columbia’s historic canal, the city is deep into a comprehensive three-part recovery effort designed to protect the drinking water supply for around 200,000 people.

The massive undertaking includes repairing the breach, rebuilding the canal headgates and creating a backup water supply from the Congaree River — all part of a more than $150 million investment in the city’s water infrastructure.

Clint Shealy, assistant city manager for Columbia Water, vividly remembers the morning after floodwaters smashed a huge hole in the canal, the main source of drinking water for the region.

“What I saw would literally take your breath away,” Shealy said. “The water that had been so high in the canal was essentially gone.”

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