Savannah River pool being discussed on Capitol Hill
WJBF News Channel 6,
June 11, 2019
Washington, D.C. (WJBF) Capitol Hill will get a chance to weigh in on the CSRA’s Lock and Dam fight. South Carolina congressman, Joe Wilson, has introduced an amendment putting stipulations on the pool level of the Savannah River. The bill, co-sponsored by Georgia congressman Rick Allen and fellow South Carolina congressman Geoff Duncan, would not allow federal funding for any project that would lower the pool level below 114.5 feet. Congressman Wilson says, doing so would violate the 2016 water infrastructure improvements for the nation act. This is not the first time our national leaders have weighed in on the issue. Earlier this year, leaders voiced their concerns over the Army Corps of Engineer’s plans to bring down the defunct Lock and Dam and replace it with a rock weir/fish ladder. During a testing phase of how the Corps plan would impact downtown Augusta, the water levels went down enough to dry dock several piers along the Aiken County side of the river and reveal mud on the banks of the Georgia side. A community comment period offered by the Corps echoed the beliefs of Wilson, Allen and Duncan and that the wier would negatively impact the CSRA, its water recreation and future growth. By Kathy Wideman |
