Flooded creek ravages Columbia man’s backyard

Before the flooding, James Gregory’s backyard was his “pride and joy.”

It was filled with lush St. Augustine grass, century-old trees and a variety of shrubs and decorative plants. His dogs loved playing in it, walking along a path Gregory had mapped out.

Gregory, 54, had nurtured the yard since 1999, when he moved to his home on Summerlea Drive in north Columbia, and he considered it one of the best in Columbia.

But that was before the historic storm on Oct. 4. Now, Gregory’s once-scenic yard could be mistaken for a war zone.

Trash, telephone poles and fallen trees are strewn throughout the mostly eroded yard. Murky water still stands in trenches dug by floodwaters.

And Gregory doesn’t know if or when officials will repair the now-broken boulder dam that used to divert nearby Smith’s Branch, an urbanized tributary of the Broad River, away from his property.

He said he can’t repair the flood-damaged first floor of his home until officials fix the dam and a nearby sewer line.

Floodwaters from the record rains caused the creek to funnel through a culvert under Sunset Drive and blast through the rock dam, about 50 yards from Gregory’s back porch, he said. U.S. Geological Survey data show that Smith’s Branch, normally no more than two feet high, rose to more than 19 feet during the storm.

Smith’s Branch partially rerouted through Gregory’s backyard and carried off dogwoods, cedars and oaks, plus a shed, picnic area, electric fence for the dogs and more.

The water eroded most of his backyard, swept away the graves of beloved pets and flooded the sewer line, sending raw sewage into the first floor of the house, Gregory said.

“I don’t have a backyard anymore,” Gregory said.

Soon after the storm, Gregory said, he saw several government officials come by to inspect his backyard. But he said he never heard from them what they plan to do, if anything. And he said he has not seen or heard from them since early December.

“We’re talking like four months now, and it continues to be an issue,” Gregory said.

The State’s repeated efforts to reach city of Columbia officials to comment on Gregory’s situation were unsuccessful.

In the meantime, Gregory has moved into the second story of his home. He doubts his backyard, which erodes a little more with each heavy rain, will ever be the same.

“Nothing is ever going to be the way it was,” Gregory said. “You’re not going to put 100-year trees back up. That’s just not going to happen.”

But, Gregory said, he hopes the proper authorities – and he isn’t sure who they are – will repair the diversion so Smith’s Branch stops flowing into his yard.

Gregory also hopes officials will clean up the storm’s debris and fill in the yard to replace soil swept away by floodwaters.

“I really kind of need some communication and something done,” Gregory said. “I really need to feel like I can have my backyard again.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 9:56 PM with the headline "Flooded creek ravages Columbia man’s backyard."