Cayce officials were urging residents who live along the Congaree River to evacuate on Sunday, as more water dumped by Hurricane Helene makes its way downstream.

As of 3:45 p.m., the Congaree River at Columbia had risen above 28 feet, with forecasts predicting it will crest at 31 feet at 2 p.m. Monday. The river hits moderate flood stage at 24 feet and major flood stage at 30 feet.

“Cayce is notifying residents of Riverland Park neighborhood that flood waters are quickly rising,” Mayor Elise Partin said in a video posted online , standing in front of rising waters at the neighborhood’s entrance to the city’s riverwalk.

“Our team is going door to door as we speak, as you can see behind me,” she continues. “Water levels are rising quickly. Voluntary evacuations are the only way that we can keep you safe. Flood waters are projected to be above 2015 flood levels in the coming hours of today, Sunday. They are expected to continue to rise several feet after that. The boat landing and riverwalk are already all under water. The city is working with area churches to find locations for those who need a place to stay.”

“Please don’t wait until the last minute to evacuate,” she added.

Cayce emergency personnel went door-to-door encouraging people to evacuate. Chris Gonzalez asked them,“Is it really like you gonna move me out?” He said the officer said I’m just letting you know it’s going to be dangerous later.

Amanda Este cried when she heard the Riverland Park subdivision would be flooding. She and her sister, Tiffany Este, and mother, Debbie Harold, had been through a flood before and it was horrible.

The Este family was trapped for three days in the attic of their house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Their grandmother, Melissa Harold, 68, died in the attic before an uncle with a boat was finally able to come rescue them.

On Sunday, ankle-deep water was already creeping three feet into their yard on Hudson Avenue. The chain-link fence is adorned with Mardi Gras beads and flags. “With four pets, we can’t leave,” Tiffany Este said.

She emphasized that one of the pets was a pit bull and nobody would take them in. She said a hotel would only allow them to take the two smaller pets.

“I wasn’t hurt in Katrina, but I don’t want to go through that again. I lost everything,” Amanda Este said.

The Congaree River crested at 32 feet after the historic “1,000-year flood” of 2015, which crippled much of the Columbia area. About 50 homes in Riverland Park flooded, according to reporting done at the time by The State,with water pushed higher than expected when all four floodgates at the Lake Murray dam were opened.

Dominion Energy opened one spill gate at the dam on Friday to “compensate for a unit at the plant that is out of service for scheduled maintenance.”

“The flow currently coming through the Lake Murray dam is within normal operating limits and has been largely the same for the last several days,” said Matthew Long, a spokpesperson for the utility company. “Dominion Energy continues to monitor the storm’s impacts as it safely operates the Lake Murray dam and will make adjustments if needed.”

One factor in determining how high the Congaree will rise is whether Dominon does end up having to open an additional spill gate as water continues to make its way down from the Upstate and western North Carolina. If another spill gate is open, that might push the river’s crest past 31 feet.

The Broad and Saluda rivers merge in Columbia to form the Congaree River. The upper part of the Broad River, which flows from the Gaffney area, apparently has crested, said Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler.

The Saluda River flows from Lake Greenwood in the western part of the state into Lake Murray and picks up again on the lake’s east side.

“For the Saluda, the real question is how much more capacity they have in Lake Murray before they have to maybe increase or open another spillway gate,” Stangler added. “And that’s an answer that they’ll figure out sometime either overnight or early tomorrow morning. They’re decreasing what’s coming out of Lake Greenwood, but it’s a question of timing.”

Whether the decrease in flow from Lake Greenwood was made quickly enough to keep Lake Murray where it needs to be is “going to be a really tight call,” he added.

At 31 feet or above, the impacts will stretch beyond Cayce, the Riverkeeper said.

“The Broad is seeing higher flooding levels than 2015, and so there are folks along that stretch that are certainly going to be impacted,” Stangler said. “Some neighborhoods along the Broad, some of those apartment complexes kind of near I-20 and things like that, should certainly be paying attention. We’ve got some additional communities downstream, and these are folks that live in the floodplain that generally are aware of this regularly. Sandy Run in Calhoun County, those folks that are on the river that regularly get flooded, they’re going to see impacts as well.”

Mayor Tem Miles posted to Facebook early Sunday evening that the state has no plans to shut down the Congaree River bridges along Interstate 126, Jarvis Klapman Boulevard and Gervais Street, though Lexington County is closing 12th Street Extension due to flooding.

“We are in the process of working with surrounding towns to close local boat ramps to keep folks off the river,” Miles posted earlier in the day . “It is incredibly dangerous on the river right now, and our personnel can’t safely respond if something goes wrong.”

Riverland Park Neighborhood in Cayce