Lower Broad River

The Congaree Riverkeeper’s geographical scope includes a 22-mile stretch of the Broad River, from the Parr Shoals Reservoir located in Newberry County down to its confluence with the Lower Saluda River, located within the City of Columbia.

The Broad River, from the Parr Shoals Reservoir to its confluence with the Saluda River, traverses through Newberry, Fairfield, and Richland Counties. The Broad River watershed contains the northern area of the Greater Columbia Metropolitan Area, including the Town of Peak and portions of the Towns of Irmo, Chapin, Little Mountain, and Blythewood. 

The Broad River watershed is contained within portions of the Northwest, North Central, Beltway, and Northeast planning areas of Richland County. The Broad River is the dividing line between the County’s Northwest planning area and the North Central planning area. The Northwest planning area includes the west side of the Broad River. Existing land use within the Northwest is primarily suburban. By the year 2035, suburban growth is expected to increase on the west side of the River outward from the City of Columbia to Hollingshed Creek. 

Several mining operations are located within the Lower Broad River Basin. The North Columbia Quarry is located off Monticello Road adjacent to the Broad River, the Dreyfus Quarry off Monticello Road near Nipper Creek adjacent to the Broad River, the Harbison Quarry off Broad River Road, the Broad River Mine off Brickyard Road near I-20 and the Broad River, the Laborde Mine near the Broad River off Highway 215, and Richardson’s Monticello quarry off Monticello Road near Columbia International University.

Mining Operations in the Lower Broad River Basin

One turkey farm is located within the Broad River Basin in Richland County.

Within the Broad River watershed, the City of the Columbia provides water within its corporate limits, as well as unincorporated Richland County. Service to unincorporated areas is generally conditioned upon future annexation, and is provided at the discretion of the City. The remaining areas of the Broad River watershed are served by individual groundwater wells. 

The Harbison Environmental Education Forest encompasses 2,177 acres on the south side of the Broad River near Columbia. It has 18 miles of trails designed for walking, jogging, hiking and mountain biking that range from moderately easy to difficult.

Richland County owns a rowing facility located on the Broad River which is used by the Columbia Rowing Club. Use of the property is restricted to rowing activities of the Columbia Rowing Club, with limited exceptions.

The 167-acre Riverfront Park was the site of the original waterworks for the City of Columbia. This was also the site of the world's first electrically operated textile mill and the hydroelectric plant, the oldest one in the state, is still operating. A popular jogging/walking trail runs two and a half miles along the linear park and offers wonderful views of the river.

A trailhead of the Palmetto Trail begins on the banks of the Broad River at Alston in Fairfield County and continues west into Newberry County, through piedmont forest, into the towns of Peak and Pomaria, and over 14 wooden trestles that cross Crims Creek.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources owns and manages the Nipper Creek Heritage Trust Preserve, a 90-acre archaeological preserve on Nipper Creek, a tributary of the Broad River. The site was occupied most heavily during the Archaic period, 8000 B.C. to 2000 B.C. 

The Broad River has limited public access for boating. A public boat landing below the Parr Reservoir under Highway 213 provides a launching point for small boats. A canoe landing is located within the Harbison State Forest. The Broad River Rowing Facility allows access for canoes and kayaks to take out from a downstream trip starting at Harbison State Forest.

According to an aquatic inventory by SCDNR, Longnose Gar, Gizzard Shad, Threadfin Shad, Grass Carp, Greenfin Shiner, Whitefin Shiner, Common Carp, Eastern Silvery Minnow, Thicklip Chub, Bluehead Chub, Spottail Shiner, Yellowfin Shiner, Sandbar Shiner, Silver Redhorse, Shorthead Redhorse, Striped Jumprock, Brassy Jumprock, Snail Bullhead, Flat Bullhead, Channel Catfish, Margined Madtom, White Perch, White Bass, Flier, Redbreast Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Warmouth, Bluegill, Redear Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Tallessellated Darter, Seagreen Darter, Yellow Perch, and Piedmont Darter have been collected from the Broad River above Riverfront Park.

The Broad River’s rocky shoals, bottomlands and sometimes-flooded agricultural fields provide a wide array of piedmont and floodplain habitats. Birding information on publicly-accessible portions of the Broad River watershed south of Parr Reservoir is scarce with the exception of Harbison State Forest, whose featured species include: Hooded Merganser, Northern Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, Wilson’s Snipe, American Woodcock, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Orchard Oriole, Pine Siskin.

Alligators, river otter, beaver and muskrat have been seen in the Columbia Canal at the Riverfront Park in Columbia.

There is historical record of the state-threatened Carolina Darter (Etheostoma collis) in Nicholas Creek. There is possibly historic record of the state-threatened pine barrens tree frog (Hyla andersonii) near the upper reaches of Crane Creek between Killian and Pontiac. 

Historic streamflow data in the lower Broad River Basin is based on six USGS gaging stations; five of these stations have been discontinued. The only active gage on the Lower Broad River is located just below Parr Reservoir. Average flow at this site is 5,316 cfs with flows ranging from a minimum of 48 cfs in 2002 to peak flow of 140,000 cfs in 1903. 

Real-time streamflow and/or gage height (stage) can be accessed at some stations in the basin from the US. Geological Service web site. The stations are listed below.

The Lower Broad River and its tributaries are classified as “freshwater” by DHEC. This classification means that these waters are suitable for primary (swimming) and secondary recreation (boating, fishing), as well as the survival and propagation of a balanced indigenous aquatic plant and animal community. The classification also means that the water is suitable for industrial and agricultural uses and for drinking water after treatment. Routine monitoring stations in the basin indicate impaired water quality conditions on all monitored streams. Recreational use was impaired at four sites due to high fecal coliform levels (Table 4 ). These include two locations in the lower section of the Broad River near Columbia. Aquatic life use was impaired at eight sites due to poor macroinvertebrate assemblages, high copper (Cu) levels, and low dissolved oxygen (DO). Four sites have had TMDL Plans in place since 2005. A Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL is required by the Clean Water Act when a water body fails to meet water quality standards. A TMDL establishes an allowable loading of a pollutant and allocates that loading by pollutant source, with the goal of restoring the quality of the water body to meet its water quality standards.

The Broad River within the City of Columbia, and its tributaries, Smith Branch and Crane Creek, do not support recreational use due to excessive fecal coliform levels in the water. In water samples tested by DHEC from 1998 through 2002, 89% of samples taken from Smith Branch, 11% from Crane Creek, and 14% from the Broad River near Highway 176 (River Drive) exceeded the 400 cfu/100 ml water quality standard for fecal coliform. (SCDHEC, 2005). High fecal coliform concentrations in Smith Branch are likely caused by stormwater runoff, pet excrement, leaking sewer pipes, and failing septic tanks. High fecal coliform concentrations in the Broad River are thought to be caused by land application fields, stormwater runoff, sewer overflows and leakages, failing septic tanks, pets, cattle, and wildlife. High fecal coliform concentrations in Crane Creek are thought to be caused by stormwater runoff, failing sewer systems, leaking sewers and pets.

Two water quality stations on the Broad River indicate impairment of aquatic life due to concentrations of copper. Copper is an abundant naturally occurring trace element found in the earth’s crust and in surface waters. At low concentrations, copper is a micronutrient essential to virtually all plants and animals. At higher concentrations copper can become toxic to aquatic life. Mining, leather and leather products, fabricated metal products, and electric equipment are a few of the industries with copper-bearing discharges that contribute to manmade discharges of copper into surface waters. 

There are a total of nine individual permits for wastewater discharges in the basin. Most are for industrial and municipal discharges. Both the City of Columbia and Richland County own and operate municipal stormwater sewer systems which are regulated by a NPDES stormwater permit issued by DHEC. Under these permits, the City and the County are required to implement measures to prevent and/or reduce pollution from stormwater runoff from entering rivers and streams.

Surface water withdrawals in the Lower Broad River Basin are limited mostly to headwater streams. However, significant water withdrawals for electric power production occur just upstream of the basin boundary in Parr Reservoir and Lake Monticello. These uses and planned expanded use will impact water availability in the Lower Broad River.

2009 Surface water withdrawals in the Lower Broad River Basin and Parr Reservoir