Representatives approve language to keep current Augusta lock and dam

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A move to keep the current Savannah River Lock and Dam is being celebrated by Congressman Rick Allen.

The House of Representatives recently passed language halting the Army Corps plans to replace the dam with a rock weir across the river and it forces the pool to be maintained at a specific level.

The lock and dam have been at the center of a years-long controversy — and lawsuits — centered around the people’s needs versus the needs of fish reportedly impacted by the corps’ deepening of Savannah Harbor.

So, what does this new measure mean for you at home?

The Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam has seen better days, and once again, at the center of controversy.

The challenge? To maintain water levels but also protect fish in the Savannah River.

Allen says he has worked for years to find a permanent solution that works for everyone.

“One that works for job creators, municipalities, and our community alike,” said Allen.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the lock and dam, wants a rock weir to control water flow with water flowing over the weir instead of through a spillway.

It’s something Allen finds a problem with.

“Maroon boats and docks on the ground, excess debris, mud flaps, the riverbanks caving in, and these businesses not able to draw the water they need,” he said.

A plan by Allen calls for river levels between Augusta’s 5th Street bridge and the lock and dam to stay between 114.5 and 115 feet. It’s passed the House and now goes to the Senate.

Tonya Bonitatibus, with the Savannah Riverkeepers, worries the plan doesn’t account for the impact on fish.

“It actually excludes sturgeon from the language, which is a huge problem,” said Bonitatibus.

Bonitatibus says she understands that maintaining the water level is critical.

But so are the fish.

“It’s this big, complicated mess of a huge amount of federal funds that need to be spent here on fish passage that now a bunch of people are fighting over what that solution looks like,” she said.

It’s been an expensive fight — one involving lawsuits.

“We can’t get people to sit down at a rational table and negotiate per the different agencies to come up with a solution that meets all the needs of the project,” said Bonitatibus.

She says the plan doesn’t account for who is going to maintain the lock and dam or how to pay for it.

“We’re just continuing this. I don’t care about the fish. Let me just take the money and then also leave this unfunded mandate,” said Bonitatibus.

It’s a fight as murky as the waters of the Savannah River.

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