Tag Archives: Savannah District

A tale of 3 reservoirs

If August’s precipitation – the best of 2016 thus far – raised anyone’s hopes, September officially dashed them.

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SHEP mitigation projects trucking along

Nearly two decades in the making, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, or SHEP, continues to gain momentum with more contracts awarded and new ground broken. In addition to progress made on the Raw Water Storage Impoundment and Dissolved Oxygen Injection System, work … Continue reading

Posted in CSS Georgia, Savannah Harbor, SHEP | Tagged , , , , , , , |

SHEP’s water impoundment nearly 30% complete

Now almost 30 percent complete, the raw-water storage impoundment dike walls are currently four feet above ground level. With a circumference of two-thirds of a mile, they will be 29 feet high, encircle 17 acres and hold 97 million gallons … Continue reading

Posted in Savannah Harbor, SHEP, Videos, Water Management, Water Quality/Water Supply, Water Safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Above average August rainfall keeps reservoirs steady

Rainfall in all three reservoir sub-basins exceeded normal in August. While no single event provided the basin with massive runoff, the steady and consistent small rain events kept the reservoirs at a relatively flat level. Leading the charge: Hartwell with … Continue reading

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J. Strom Thurmond Dam, then and now

Eight years in the making, the J. Strom Thurmond Dam was a monumental task for engineers and construction workers in the 1940s and ‘50s. Archival footage in this video shows the steps they took to layer power plant fixtures as … Continue reading

Posted in Flood Risk Management, Hydropower, Navigation, Recreation, Videos, Water Quality/Water Supply | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |

Richard B. Russell – not your average hydropower plant

(A version of this article originally appeared on this blog May 29, 2013.) The youngest of Savannah District’s three multipurpose dam and lake projects, Richard B. Russell Dam differs from Hartwell and Thurmond, not just size and appearance, but also … Continue reading

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Dams demand best of operator trainees

(Above: Les Rice guides visitors through a quick tour of the J. Strom Thurmond Dam.) AUGUSTA, Ga. – J. Strom Thurmond Dam currently operates at 98 percent proficiency but its operators are expected to perform above this percentage. Operator Trainee … Continue reading

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Upper Savannah reservoirs enter Drought Level 1

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The three reservoirs on the Savannah River operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered the first drought level today when pool elevation at Thurmond Lake dipped below 326 feet above mean sea level (ft-msl). Entering … Continue reading

Posted in Declaration/Projection, Drought in the News, Drought Response, Studies, Water Quality/Water Supply | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On watermelons and water levels

Summer in the Southeast means many things. Heat and humidity come to mind first, of course, but so do things like lazy Sunday afternoons, fishing trips, water skiing, firefly chasing and eating watermelon under a shade tree. In the upper … Continue reading

Posted in Declaration/Projection, Drought in the News, Drought Response, From the Commander, Studies, Water Quality/Water Supply | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |

Commander: Persistent, below normal rainfall expected to impact lake levels

Since I took command of the Savannah District in June 2015 we’ve been fortunate to have adequate, and sometimes abundant, rainfall and inflows to maintain full reservoir levels. Beginning in January we observed below-average rainfall throughout the basin, yet were … Continue reading

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