Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District announced their decision on the future for a fish passage at the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam near Augusta.
The final decision will be a set of river-width weirs followed by the removal of the deteriorating lock and dam. The plan will lower the average height of the river in the Augusta area approximately 2 feet from current average conditions. The introduction of multiple weirs will hold the water level above natural levels while allowing endangered fish, including the shortnose sturgeon, to reach traditional spawning grounds inaccessible since the lock and dam opened in 1937.
Congressmen from the area, Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA 12) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC 02), released a joint statement with their opposition to the decision.
“Since the day the Corps announced their disastrous plans to remove the Lock and Dam and replace it with a rock weir, we have fought their decision tooth and nail – and warned the Corps that they will not be able to maintain the pool, as required under federal law,” said the congressmen.
“In a bicameral, bi-state manner, the Senators and members of Congress representing the CSRA sent a letter to the Corps saying that the intent of Congress was to maintain the pool level at the date of enactment—not for functionality like the Corps claims. To lower the pool level in such an irreversible manner would negatively impact recreation, economic development and the industries up and down the river, not to mention an increased chance of flooding.”
The Army Corps disputes the idea though that pool levels will not be able to be made higher – but it will require cooperation between the states and will have to be done without federal assistance. The plan “enables conditions necessary for modification to increase the weir height to allow for higher water. These modifications can be introduced either now or in the future following completion of construction. Changing to a higher weir alternative before construction requires Georgia and South Carolina to work in concert with the project’s non-federal sponsor to form a locally preferred plan (LPP). The LPP must be requested by the non-federal sponsor,” said the Corps in their decision.
Environmental groups are predictably pleased with the increased attention to the ecosystem and a plan that takes that into account but are advocating for the higher water levels through cooperation. Tonya Bonitatibus, executive director of the Savannah Riverkeeper, told the Aiken Standard that the solution is not perfect but workable. “2-6d (the official name of the plan) is a workable solution. It’s not the greatest, but I think our position is that if the community wants to keep the river higher, they’re going to have to come together and get past the idea of keeping the lock and dam and do exactly what the Corps is asking, which is meaningful interaction.”
For more on the fish passage and the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, see the Corps’ past blog posts here.
For a history of the lock and dam, check the webpage here.
