[Paddlewise] High water on the South River in NC

This past weekend I paddled the South River from the state access on US 701
south of Garland, NC.  The river was about 8 in. higher than it had been
three weeks before, even though the rains had slackened somewhat.  I headed
upstream for about 2 hours and then paddled back at a more leisurely pace,
negotiating the numerous strainers (downed trees) without major difficulty.

During both trips, the river was high enough that I could touch the
underside of the Hell Town Road bridge when I went under it.  On the second
trip, I could touch the underside of the 701 bridge as well.

The South is a typical blackwater river of the coastal plain. The low water
channel wanders like a narrow country lane through a much broader,
straighter, wooded flood channel. There are numerous sloughs and side
channels that usually have some water in them, except under very low water
conditions.  In flood, the river is like an 8-lane highway with water
running through the trees.  When I paddle the South, I stick to the low
water channel.  In periods of high water, there are places in which the
current actually runs across the low water channel rather than down it.

What puzzled me was the fact that the South has stayed so full for such a
long time.  Granted, in this El Nino year, we've had a lot of rain in North
Carolina.  These last two trips I looked carefully at the US 701 bridge and
the Hell Town Road bridge.  Both act as partial dams. US 701 crosses the
South on two bridges, one for a side channel and one for the main channel.
Except for those two gaps, the highway is, effectively, a dam. Hell Town
Road also acts as a dam.  There is the bridge over the main channel and
I've spotted a smaller bridge for a side channel, but that is all.
Therefore, where a road crosses the river, the 8-lane highway gets choked
down to 2 or 3 lanes.

The straight line distance between the Highway 24 bridge over the South
River to the US 701 bridge is just over 21 miles.  Between those two
bridges, there are six more bridges.  In periods of high water, each of
those bridges acts like a partial dam.  Now I understand why the South
remains at such high levels for such a long period of time.

Bob

--------------------------------------------------
Robert C. Perkins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Planning
Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 28311
910-630-7037     rperkins_at_methodist.edu


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