An excessive population of beavers in Columbia has caused damage to the city’s sewer and septic systems. In June city officials signed a $1 million “Right of Way Beaver Clearing Contract,” to fix the problem.
"When the populations get this large they become a problem," said Columbia wildlife biologist Jason Peeples.
Peeples said the problems started several decades ago after a decline in the fur market.
"They ultimately showed up in everyone's backyard, anywhere there's a stream or a creek,” said Peeples.
According to Peeples the beavers dam waterways causing once dry land to become flooded. When the area experiences heavy rainfall the dams break, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on city sewer lines.
“Therefore you have the sewer overflows in the creeks and ponds and sometimes into people’s houses,” said Joseph Harley with Columbia’s Wastewater Management.
Harley said two-thirds of the $1 million contract goes directly to clearing the waterways the beavers have clogged and the rest goes to beaver removal.
"A million dollars is a lot of money but we have million of dollars of assets... which is our sewer lines... and we have to take care of it," said Harley.
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