From West Columbia City Hall....The City of West Columbia is still under Mandatory Evacuation. We are pleased to report that a 40 foot prediction by the National Weather Service has been lowered to 32 feet. For many of our residents, this is a reprieve. The predicted crest will, however, reach into our city. Homes will be damaged. Many of our neighbors have already been flooded during Tropical Storm Harvey. The City's waste water collection facilities were inundated with storm water; many of those assets are still under water. While the widespread damage that was predicted to occur may not take place, we cannot lose focus on the individuals and individual properties that will suffer loss. Our inundated system will drain. As more water and sewer is pushed into the system, the likelihood of damage and sewer entering other people's homes increases. In an effort to protect those homes who would not be damaged otherwise, the City asks that no one use the sanitary system, which includes sink, laundry, toilets, showers or any other water in the home. The City has asked that our local businesses respect the mandatory evacuation order as their being open continually discharges into the sewer system. We recognize that this is an inconvenience, but please help us protect our citizens' homes in low lying areas. If you were in the house taking everyone else's sewer, you would beg them not to flush.
The river crest is predicted for Friday into Saturday and is predicted to remain at major flood stage for many days. Our drainage system will remain fully charged. Any significant rainfall can cause flash flooding.
We want things to return to normal as quickly as possible, but it must be done safely.
