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 navigation 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 2022:  Continue transition to remote hydropower operations. Perform routine hydropower operations and maintenance. Prepare contract for replacement of spillway gate controls.  Perform routine operations and maintenance of recreation areas within established recreation seasons.   Install a 2.4-3kw Solar System at Ridge Road Campground to reduce utility costs. Initiate paving of the West Dam Recreation Area. Perform routine shoreline management, environmental stewardship and compliance activities. Complete identification and prioritization of potential underwater cultural resources sites for future investigation during low water conditions.
                    
ACTIVITIES FOR FY 2023: Perform routine hydropower operations and maintenance with all units available. Conduct a routine periodic assessment, perform a deformation survey of the dam, and upgrade water control manual. Conduct a 5-year external environmental compliance review. Perform routine operations and maintenance of recreation areas within established recreation seasons. Repair and replace shoreline erosion control measures in Clarks Hill Park. Perform routine shoreline management, environmental stewardship, and compliance activities. Determine site eligibility for 50 cultural resources sites. Survey and replace 4 missing boundary line survey monuments. Replace and upgrade piezometers in the dam.  Replace failed security and safety fencing around an abandoned quarry. 
                
ISSUES AND OTHER INFORMATION:  Thurmond is one of the most visited projects in the nation. The project served 4.5M visitors in FY 2021 resulting in $299M in visitor spending within 30 miles of project and a record recreation user fee revenue of $1.5M returned to the United States Treasury. The project supplied 7 communities with water. The J. Strom Thurmond Power Plant produced 807,890 megawatt hours in FY 2021, returning $23M in revenue to the United States Treasury. J. Strom Thurmond project prevented an estimated $208M in cumulative flood damages from 1955 to date. Timber harvested on project lands provided $1.2M in revenues in FY 2021.  

                   
ADMINISTRATION POSITION:  Project is consistent with current Administration policy.
                       
ACTION OFFICER:  Michael C. Chirpich                               31 March 2022
                                   CESAS/912-652-6162