How a water infrastructure crisis became a riverfront opportunity in Columbia, South Carolina

The resulting 1,000-year flood hit Columbia, South Carolina, hard, breaching dams along the Columbia Canal — the largest source of the city’s drinking water.

Clint Shealy was six weeks into a new job as the water works superintendent at the Columbia Canal when “it started raining and just kept raining,” he told Smart Cities Dive.

“We don’t sleep well when we think about this thing happening again,” said Shealy, who is now assistant city manager, Columbia water.

River city resiliency City officials have responded to the disaster with an ambitious initiative to restore and modernize the Columbia Canal system.

“The city is investing with its partners to strengthen quality of life, protect our critical infrastructure and really embrace who we are as a river city.”