West Columbia resident says children sick after alleged sewage contamination; requests meeting with SCDOT and city

Corina Helgason, who identified herself as a resident of 1020 Natchez Trail, told the City of West Columbia council that strong sewage odors and "milky, muddy" contaminated water on Halloween are causing health problems in her family and neighborhood.

"Our children are dying, not only mine, but the whole entire neighborhood, sir," Helgason said, adding that her child developed pink eye and her son recently tested positive for E. coli. She said SCDOT’s attorney, identified in her remarks as "Mister Deholser," advised her the gabion wall adjacent to her property is unsafe and that she is not permitted to repair it because it is not her property.

Helgason asked the council to arrange a meeting "with your attorney ... SCDOT and some engineers" and requested an answer by Friday if possible. She also asserted that about $800,000 budgeted for the wall a decade ago "was not spent on the wall" and asked the council to identify contractors and accounting for those funds.

Mayor Protell responded that the issue is a legal matter and declined to meet with her in council chambers, noting that she is representing herself in the dispute. The transcript records no immediate city commitment to a multi-party meeting; Helgason closed by urging further engagement and saying she had documented the problem.

Why it matters: Helgason’s remarks raise public-health and infrastructure questions—alleged sewage contamination and an E. coli diagnosis—that, if verified, could require rapid investigation and remediation. The resident specifically seeks city coordination with SCDOT and legal/engineering review.

What council did: The mayor treated Helgason’s remarks as a legal issue and did not arrange the meeting she requested during the public-comment period. The council did not take a public vote or direct staff to convene the multi-party meeting on the record within the heard remarks.

Outstanding points and provenance: Helgason said SCDOT engineers told her the site was unsafe and that previous funds ("that $800,000") earmarked for the gabion wall were not spent (claims she said she has documented). These claims appear in her remarks as captured in the public comment record (SEG 437–SEG 509). The transcript does not include an SCDOT response or a city-initiated investigation report in the meeting record; the status of the funds and any engineering assessment is not specified in the transcript.

Next steps noted on the record: None formalized in the meeting; Helgason requested a meeting and an answer by Friday but the council did not schedule one in the session.