A vacant textile mill facing a lawsuit over its use of water from the city-owned Augusta Canal has been unfairly singled out for closure, its lawyer told a Superior Court judge Thursday.
"We are every bit as much a manufacturer as any of the other mills," said Bill Barwick, representing Avondale Mills, which owns Sibley Mill.
Although Sibley is closed, for sale and no longer manufacturing textiles, its eight employees operate hydropower turbines to generate electricity sold for $1,000 to $1,200 per day, he said.
The city of Augusta, in efforts to cope with reduced flows in the drought-stricken Savannah River, filed suit against Avondale last month, asking Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet to order Avondale to cease withdrawing canal water.
"There is simply not enough water to support all users of the canal," attorney Jim Wall argued on the city's behalf, adding that Avondale ignored written orders to cease water withdrawals.
The issue boils down to the supply of water in the Savannah River, which feeds the canal built by the city in 1845.
The average historical flow in the river is about 9,000 cubic feet per second, but current flows have been reduced to a 20-year low of 3,100 cubic feet per second under a conservation measure approved by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Part of that 3,100 cubic feet per second is needed to protect the Augusta Shoals, an ecologically important part of the river bypassed by the canal's upper channel.
Mr. Wall said Augusta has made commitments to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and other government agencies to try to keep 1,000 to 1,500 cubic feet per second flowing through the shoals.
"To meet that obligation, somebody's got to come off line," Mr. Wall said.
The four users of canal water consume 3,464 cubic feet per second of flow, Mr. Wall said. It includes 1,024 cubic feet per second by Avondale, 880 by King Mill, 560 cubic feet per second at Enterprise Mill and about 1,000 used by the city for hydromechanical power and drinking water.
Enterprise and King mills are both in use as viable, productive businesses, and reducing flows used by Augusta to pump drinking water to its Highland Avenue treatment plant would cost $6,000 per day in replacement power, Mr. Wall said, adding that the logical choice for a cut is Avondale.
Mr. Barwick countered that Sibley is making a product -- electricity. He also told Judge Overstreet the mill is currently for sale for $2.5 million and its value would be severely reduced if it were stripped of its ability to make revenues through power generation.
If the judge orders the turbines silenced, "we will cease to be a functioning plant, and we will never, ever come back," Mr. Barwick said.
The city, he added, should have used eminent domain and condemnation if it wanted to close Sibley, he said. "You could condemn it, close it and give us fair market value," he said.
Judge Overstreet said he will consider arguments and supporting documents on both sides and try to make a ruling before Christmas.
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
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How is J. Carlisle going to be able to make a decision where he can't mete out probation for a first offender? This is probably uncharted territory for him.....
Since those mills don't use the power for textile production anymore, they should stop withdrawing water from the canal so it can pass through the shoals.
Now that it has rained, is this case still relevant?
What's so ecologically important about the shoals? I guess a couple crawdads or fish might not survive. Big deal! Here we are trying to come up with energy sources to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and they want to shut down a source of energy.
Two and a half million ? Boardman wants it cheap!
What does the city charge the mill for the water? Surely it's not free. Did I miss something. Just raise the price if it's such a valuable commodity, and it is.
Mr. Barwick says that if the turbines are shutdown, they would never start up again. That's not necessarily so.
G'Day all you lovely birds and gruffy blokes. Isn't the water used by the turbines not returned to the river? Can some one 'splain this to me?
JACK: the water in the canal eventually makes its way back to the Savannah River; however, re-entry is below the shoals. If Sibley cuts back and/or stops using the canal water, this increases the water flow through the shoals. Apparantly, Sibley likes getting nearly $365,000+ profit each year w/o running the facility and only paying eight employees.
The entire premise of Augusta's case is faulty. They claim that there is not enough water, but they have no proof to back it up. The city should not close down the business of one water user and allow others to operate. The city should not pick winners and losers among businesses.
When water flow is low, all the city has to do is throttle the gates at the canal headworks to lower the canal level a few inches. That way, ALL canal water users will have decreased flow, but at least ALL can operate at diminished capacity until the next rain. It is not fair to shut down one arbitrarily, especially since there is plenty of water 98% of the time.
I thought that the Canal Authority and Water Works were going to drain the entire canal anyway. There was an article a while back about it costing the Enterpise mill money to replace the electricity it generated and lost revenue from the boat tours. When that happens, will it not shutter Avondale as well? By their own admission once they are stopped they will not be restarted. So why waste money and time on this court case?
This is a serpentine effort to force Avondale to close and sell its Mill. Someone with Big Plans for a BIG profit must be tinkering with the politics to get the property at below market value. THIS IS HOW RICH PEOPLE MAKE MONEY, if the city is going to force Avondale to stop using water from the canal, then let the other Mills stop using the water as well. They (the other Mills) have tenants to pay rent and utility bills, other than to the owners of the mills for profits. This ain't about the Shoals, it's about the Greed of a rich man, and you all know his name!
EMAGUY, How much Profit do the other Mills make from generating power with the canal water they use? Are you on the payroll at the other Mills or their subsidiaries or their parent company? How many employees do the other mills employ? What rate do the other mills charge their tenants for power? Is the rate comparable to that of the other sources in the area? Who knows the answer to these questions? Are the other Mills ripping off their tenants with high priced power bills?