PROJECT NAME AND STATE:  J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake, GA and SC
                  
AUTHORIZATION:  Flood Control Act of 1944

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION:  J. Strom Thurmond dam, completed in 1954, is located 22 miles north of Augusta, Georgia in Clarks Hill, South Carolina, and consists of a 2,282-foot long, 200-foot high concrete section and a controlled spillway, 1,096 feet long. It provides a total storage of 2,900,000 acre-feet. The authorized project purposes include Hydropower, Flood Control, Recreation, Water Supply/Water Quality, Fish and Wildlife, and Navigation (no longer operated for NAV as there is no commercial traffic). The multi-purpose project’s 80,000 acres of land, 70,000 acres of water, and 1,200 miles of shoreline inhabit seven counties in Georgia and South Carolina.
                      
ACTIVITIES FOR FY 2020  Install diesel backup power generator and a new feeder switch for the office complex. Continue transition to remote hydropower operations.  Perform routine hydropower operations and maintenance with all units available. Operate recreation areas at reduced levels of service and recreation seasons and complete leasing of Big Hart Recreation Area to McDuffie County and the closed Mt. Carmel Campground to a commercial operator.  Complete installation of a new retaining wall in West Dam Recreation Area.  Perform routine shoreline management, environmental stewardship and compliance activities. Complete funding creel monitoring efforts to monitor hydrilla control efforts to reduce the impacts to bald eagles by AVM.   Identify and prioritize potential underwater cultural resources sites for future investigation during low water conditions.
                    
ACTIVITIES FOR FY 2021: Perform routine hydropower operations and maintenance with all units available. Operate a reduced number of recreation areas at lower than established levels of service and recreation seasons.  Perform routine shoreline management, environmental stewardship and compliance activities.
                
ISSUES AND OTHER INFORMATION:  Budget amount of $11,093,000 will be used to operate and maintain hydropower facilities at acceptable levels and recreation facilities at reduced service levels and reduced operating seasons.  Thurmond is one of the most visited projects in the nation.  The project served 4,380,249 visitors generating recreation user fee revenue of $1,051,464 returned to the United States Treasury in FY19.  Associated visitor spending within 30 miles was $150,747,413 and jobs supported by recreation were 1,267.  The project supplied 7 communities with water.  The J. Strom Thurmond Power Plant produced 783,608 megawatt hours in FY 2019, returning $24,713,329 in revenue to the United States Treasury.  J. Strom Thurmond project prevented an estimated $182,006,176 in cumulative flood damages from 1955 to date.  Timber harvested on project lands provided $1,036,128 in revenues in FY 2019. Costs for operation and maintenance contracts are $23.2M and the contractors will use up to 35 employees during the peak season to clean, mow and maintain project areas. 

                   
ADMINISTRATION POSITION:  Project is consistent with current Administration policy.
                       
ACTION OFFICER:  Margarett (Mackie) McIntosh                                  25 March 2020

                                      CESAS/912-652-5320