Flood damage from above shows massive road ahead

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Four days have passed since the Midlands was hit by an historic amount of rainfall. As the flood waters pull away, what’s left are soiled objects, that once comprised a home. Wednesday evening, Columbia City Councilman Moe Baddourah organized a group of residents to get a new different perspective on what’s happened to our city, from the seat of a helicopter. Gills Creek Watershed Association program coordinator Erich Miarka was our guide above the 70 mile stretch of streams and lakes. The watershed is comprised of more than 200 ponds and lakes. Miarka says about two-dozen large lakes usually do a solid job of storing storm water runoff. Not this time. “Those lakes and dams were simply overwhelmed and it led to at least five dam failures, two of which were significant,” he says. “And that contributed to the downstream flooding we saw Sunday morning.” Miarka says DHEC is closely watching Beaver Dam, in Wildewood, and Spring Lake Dam, above Forest Lake. But the two that everything really hinged on, Lake Katherine and Forest Lake Dams, are okay.