Sewage spilled into lake in Columbia for hours, water officials say

Sewage spilled into bodies of water for hours overnight, according to Columbia Water.

The sanitary sewer overflow was reported near 300 Hickory Ridge Drive in Richland County, Columbia Water officials said in a news release. That’s near Padgett Road, not far from the Garners Ferry Area.

The sewage dumped into an unnamed tributary flowing to Lake Rebecca (Mill Creek), according to the release.

The spill might have been caused by a blockage in the gravity sanitary sewer system, Columbia Water officials said.

The overflow was confirmed at 5:50 p.m., but there was no word when it might have began spilling into the water.

It was about 9 p.m. when the spill was stopped, according to the release. Officials did not say how the spill was stopped.

Information on the amount of sewage that spilled into the tributary and lake was not available.

A clean up of the area continued Monday, Columbia Water officials said.

Anyone with questions about the overflow can contact Columbia Water at 803-545-3300 or customercare@columbiasc.gov.

In an unrelated incident on Friday, a fuel spill in downtown Columbia turned a creek that drains into the Congaree River bright red. Cleanup crews worked to contain the spill before any fuel reached the Congaree. It was not known if any fuel reached the river.

About 800 gallons polluted the unnamed creek that winds through Memorial Park and past the Gervais Street bridge.

Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler said DHEC officials he spoke with told him the spill originated at the Strom Thurmond federal building, which sits on a hill above the river.

The fuel that spilled was diesel, and preliminary information shows it leaked from a storage tank, Stangler said.