Columbia Star

1963        Celebrating 60 Years      2023

Improving and maintaining Gills Creek Watershed continues



Beckham Swamp Road

Beckham Swamp Road

The Gills Creek Watershed Association (GCWA) came into being in the early 1990s when several local lake associations began meeting informally to discuss water quality and other related issues affecting their particular lakes, all of which were part of the Gills Creek Watershed.

In February of 1994, DHEC launched the Gills Creek Nonpoint Source Pollution Project, establishing a means to identify and recommend measures for the control of nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution which is all the pollution that rainfall runoff accumulates as it flows through the watershed. Unlike pollution from a point source, NPS originates from many sources throughout the watershed.

Fort Jackson, Arcadia Lakes, the city of Forest Acres, and the city of Columbia were all contributing to the rapid urbanization of the area. This, along with the diverse land use of the watershed, contributed to the need for the Watershed Protection Approach to controlling and maintaining acceptable water quality.

As these developments were taking place, membership and interest in GCWA was growing. People who lived around the smaller lakes and ponds and those living within the watershed began to get more involved in preserving their segment of one of the largest watersheds in the country. Environmentalists not living within the watershed also became interested in preserving this space.

Before the turn of the century, GCWA had become a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. After 20-plus years, the mission hasn’t changed: The Gills Creek Watershed Association protects the Gills Creek Watershed through Advocacy, Restoration, Conservation, and Education.

Bailey Slice Parker, the new executive director for GCWA, hit the ground running when she was appointed in January. Bailey is a Midlands Master Naturalist and an active member of both the Columbia Audubon Society and Friends of Congaree Swamp. She also serves on the boards of the Midlands Chapter of the S.C. Native Plant Society and Canoeing for Kids.

Interest in the natural world led her to a well-rounded knowledge of native plants, wildlife, and ecosystems, and that knowledge drives her passion for making the world a better place for wildlife and humans, which matches the passion of the Gills Creek Watershed Association.

The watershed’s headwaters start above Sesquicentennial State Park and flow into the Congaree River just above Congaree National Park. Along the way, its 70 miles of streams and lakes and 47,000 acres of land affect citizens in Columbia, Forest Acres, Arcadia Lakes, Richland County, and the U.S. Army’s Fort Jackson.

In the 20-plus years of its existence, the Gills Creek Watershed Association has celebrated many accomplishments but also came to realize the work is constant. Beginning in 2007, with help from Richland County and the River Network, a strategic plan was created and approved, and the executive director position was established. The first Gills Creek Watershed Management Plan was created in 2009.

In 2012, an early target for restoration efforts was brought into focus by development of the Middle Watershed Master Plan, a concept for a greenway and blue way, along with stream enhancement, extending from Kilbourne Road to the south at Shop Road.

The Owens Field Park Best Management Practices and Education Project, done in coordination with Richland County and funded by a S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control 319 grant, began in 2014.

The Flood of the Century, in 2015, brought more attention to overall water quality and stormwater runoff. The GCWA provided accurate information and worked with other community flood responders during and after the dangerous and extensive event.

Since that flood, the Gills Creek Watershed Association has, in addition to the already established focus on water quality, began to take steps to develop the entire watershed into a recreationally beneficial space from the source to the Congaree River.

An area flooded by the 2015 flood has been left to nature for reclamation. And nature is doing a pretty good job. Timberlane Drive, which borders Gills Creek, and was once a thriving neighborhood, has now reverted back to a natural space since the flood. Birds and reptiles are returning in record numbers, and the quiet, secluded area seems to have always been untouched by development.

The Crowson Road Project, which repairs existing damage and adds new infrastructure to Crowson Road where it runs parallel to the creek from Fort Jackson Boulevard to Devine Street, is nearing completion. Improvements to the creek bank look natural but help move water in a more leisurely pace. Bank enhancements and new trees will bring stability should the future bring more intense storms.

There is also new energy on the Gills Creek Greenway that was promised in the Penny Sales Tax legislation that seemed so long ago. A long proposed park with water access off Decker Boulevard, near where Zorba’s once stood is getting closer to reality. Plans include walkways along the water’s edge and kayak inputs.

Identifying locations along Gills Creek where very few people realize the creek is even there is also a new priority. The Midlands Tech parking lot, and Northeast and Cooper libraries now have identifying signage for those curious about the Gill Creek Waterway.

The folks who work hard to improve and preserve the Gills Creek Watershed, those who live within the confines of the watershed, and those who just feel the need to preserve this local treasure are getting together on April 28. Anyone interested in improving and maintaining the watershed is welcome.

The Wine for Water annual fundraising event will take place at the Hall at Land’s End from 6-9 p.m. This well-known destination is located where Senate Street ends at the banks of the Congaree and is about eight-and-a-half miles from where Gills Creek enters the river.

Wine for Water: www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-for-water-2023-tickets-541593820697

GCWA: www.gillscreekwatershed.org.

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