Repair lock and dam

Congress just approved a whopping $286 billion transportation bill packed with hundreds of millions of dollars in local pork projects that politicians call "earmarks."

Too bad that, with all that taxpayer money available, a paltry $18 million couldn't be earmarked to finally repair the aging New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.

In fairness, it should be pointed out that if the dam were to be repaired, it would not be paid for out of the transportation budget, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' budget. However, Congress still would have to earmark funds for the project. Yet for several years now, it has failed to do so despite the best efforts of our two-state legislative delegation and local leaders on both sides of the river.

The importance of the lock and dam, built in 1937, was made clear in early 2000 when the Corps of Engineers foolishly drained the river from downtown Augusta to New Savannah Bluff to determine the impact that decommissioning the dam would have on the region.

The impact was shoreline and property destruction totalling more than $1.5 million. Another impact was to awaken communities on both sides of the river that pulling the plug on the lock and dam would endanger millions of dollars of public and private riverfront development investments.

The Corps' plan to decommission the dam soon was abandoned in favor of a plan to transfer ownership of the lock and dam to local governments after the Corps made an estimated $6 million in repairs. That was three years ago; since then, because of further aging and decaying, the lock and dam repair costs have risen to $18 million.

The longer the delay, the more expensive the fix-up gets, and the less reliable the structure becomes. Congress is being penny-wise and pound-foolish by not moving ahead on renovations.

Although there's little likelihood the lock and dam could fail to the point of causing an unplanned drawdown, there is still a chance that under some conditions problems could arise that might cause serious malfunctions.

"Potential for failure (of the lock gates) is high," says Bill Lynch, the Corps' project manager,

To help ensure Congress will come to its senses and cough up repair funds next year, a memorandum of understanding on the transfer of ownership must be agreed to between the Corps and the acquiring communities: Aiken County, North Augusta and perhaps - though details still remain to be worked out - the city of Augusta.

When the change of ownership takes place, South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. has agreed to operate and maintain the dam at no profit, though the firm's expenses would be covered by the municipalities and industries that depend on the dam's upstream pool for drinking water and industrial uses.

The New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam plays too vital a role in the economic and recreational health of our region for its renovation to be delayed much longer. That's the message our federal lawmakers must get through to their colleagues next year.