{"id":4673,"date":"2026-08-15T22:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T22:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4673"},"modified":"2026-08-15T22:05:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T22:05:55","slug":"a-flood-ravaged-columbia-house-is-now-gone-can-nature-take-its-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4673","title":{"rendered":"A flood-ravaged Columbia house is now gone. Can nature take its place?"},"content":{"rendered":"

An awkward metal three once mounted to the front of a house lay belly-up in the rough dirt, a relic of the flood-ravaged home the Gills Creek Watershed Association demolished just a few months ago.<\/p>

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The house at 4230 Timberlane Dr., had been long abandoned, after more than 20 inches of rain submerged the area in water during the historic 2015 flood, causing residents on the street to have to paddle out of their homes to safety.<\/p>

The Gills Creek Watershed Association is a local nonprofit that advocates for the Columbia watershed that stretches from Sesquicentennial State Park to the Congaree River. After a long, fraught effort to purchase the flood-damaged property, the local environmental group was successful earlier this year, buying the property for $37,000 and immediately getting to work demolishing it. By the end of June, the empty, decaying house was no more. Just rubble in a patch of dirt.<\/p>

But Gills Creek\u2019s volunteers won\u2019t be rebuilding on the property. Instead, they\u2019ll be giving it back to nature.<\/p>

\u201cWe could build a house here, but we don\u2019t want to do that,\u201d said Gills Creek Watershed Association President Bailey Slice Parker. Instead, they want the land to bolster the natural environment by allowing new vegetation to thrive. That in turn will result in less flooding because the plants will absorb the water much better than a house built with impervious surfaces can, she said.<\/p>

\u201cWe are turning this area into a sponge,\u201d Parker said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to absorb water, it\u2019s not going to contribute to the flooding problem that we have.\u201d<\/p>

Eventually, the group would like to work with Richland County to acquire a stretch of property from private owners on this flood-prone stretch to build a park. The park would be more than greenspace, Parker said, noting that nearby, Blue Heron and egrets have made a home in the damp woods, and that they could use the site to teach about flood plains first-hand.<\/p>

But before any of that can happen, the now-empty property must be prepared to host new plants and wildlife.<\/p>