WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — West Columbia resident B.A. Hohman said she became interested in local watersheds when her yard, which backs up to the brickyard branch watershed, flooded.
"Just so much water was unbelievable," Hohman said. "I mean, you couldn't walk back there before it would see you would sink up to your mid-calf."
A watershed is an area of land that drains rainwater and snow melt into rivers, basins and oceans. When water enters the watershed too quickly, it can cause flooding.
"If I had a funnel and I was holding a funnel, and you poured a bucket of water into the funnel, there's a - there's a point where you are pouring too much water into the funnel for it to be able to flow through the hole at the bottom of the funnel," said Scott Miller, an environmental engineer. "And that's what happens when you develop land and then add culverts and things like that."
"The issue is in understanding how the impact that's going to have on the overall watershed and flooding in communities," Miller said. "So, when my street floods, I am inconvenienced by the fact that we tried to put development where there used to be forests, but that's an OK thing to have done. What we lost in the development of watersheds is we lost areas where flooding was appropriate."
Hohman and Miller are part of a coalition of members from different neighborhoods called the Brickyard Branch Watershed Association. They aim to protect and restore their watershed and increase education about these areas.
"It's been a very grassroots community-oriented group that volunteers, we get in donated trees, big shipments," Hohman said. "We've planted probably close to 600 trees total."
The group plants vegetation on private property, advocates against chemical use in these areas, and takes many other actions to help keep the watershed healthy.
"What our Facebook page does, it has all these guides that you can look up; if you have an area in your yard that's wet or dry or whatever, it will tell you ... what native plants are best to plant where," Hohman said. "So it's- it's very informative. There's also maps showing the different watersheds around the area."
Cayce resident Tre Bray is another member of the association.
"Planting trees is definitely, you know, the secondary and tertiary steps that go with it," Bray said. "But I think the other big next step is building out the watersheds for the different branches and creeks."
"We put sort of man-made little damns, actually, in the watershed to try and stem the flow a little bit and build up some sediment," Hohman said.
Bray and other members say the education aspect of their work is crucial, as watersheds are often not considered.
"I think the majority of issues and concerns we have in municipalities and cities is just the lack of education," Bray said. "We've got to get better at that and that's where the brickyard branch watershed group has done amazing."
"It's just very heartwarming to see how many people you know come out with their shovels and pickaxes and lend a hand," Hohman said.
The Brickyard Branch Watershed Association also wants to inspire other areas with shared watersheds to create similar groups. They said the groups could work together to protect and restore regional watersheds.
"It really shows people are trying to do something for not two years away, but 30 years or 40 years down the line," Bray said.