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  • July

    Maintenance workers at the Hartwell Power Plant perform repairs on Unit 5 during a scheduled biennial inspection in June 2016. The team improves operational efficiency by rehabilitating deficient generators in-house, cutting losses of up to $12,000 per day. Losses are calculated on the basis of imminent failure if issues aren't identified and addressed immediately, according to Ryan Hanna, a Hartwell Power Plant hydropower manager.

    Hartwell power plant repairs increase efficiency, cuts costs

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A maintenance team is improving operational efficiency and cutting costs at the Hartwell Dam Power Plant by rehabilitating deficient generators. Recently, staff thwarted the imminent failure of unit 4 when several burnt coils were discovered during scheduled biennial outages. The timely discovery resulted in an economical response that returned the unit online within its established biennial outage.

  • A new resource for USACE: How to identify and engage socially vulnerable populations

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Deliberately focusing on people from lower socio-economic backgrounds clustered near civil works projects eases the job of gaining public approval, according to Corps experts’ recent study.
  • An endangered wood stork comes in for a landing at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina.

    Listening to the pulse of the Savannah River

    A soft breeze rustled the marsh grasses as James “Jim” Rothnie carefully placed a fresh canvas on his easel. Morning light sparkled on the waters of the ACE Basin nearby. Quietly, he crept closer to the dozen lounging birds, their elegant snow-white plumage contrasting sharply with leathery, bald heads. Wood storks were one of his favorite sightings.

  • June

    A capture of Aaron Wahus, park operations manager at J. Strom Thurmond Project, capturing the sunrise while assigned as Thurmond's chief ranger of recreation in 2005. The photo was taken at the first morning launch of the 2005 Bass Masters Tournament hosted at Thurmond Lake.

    Illustrious career keeps growing and growing

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Aaron Wahus’ 23-year Corps career matured into a park operations manager assignment at J. Strom Thurmond Project but his insatiable craving for new challenges made room for another career growth spurt. For four months, Wahus strengthened his functional muscle during a grooming assignment as head of the Baltimore District’s Tioga-Hammond and Cowanesque projects from Feb. 21 – June 19.
  • Mark Hiscox, a student in Auburn University's Construction Management Program and contracting specialist at the Savannah District, displays contracting and construction tools of the trade at district headquarters June 15, 2016. Hiscox is one of more than 60 district employees who've enrolled in the degree-awarding program promoted to mend information and communication gaps between construction and contracting specialists. The program blends practical and professional construction education principles for working professionals. It also focuses on holistic communities of practice for students who need to understand interdisciplinary concepts in dynamic team environments.

    Auburn program helps contracting staff redefine business as usual

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A few hard-charging Savannah District professionals looking to rattle business as usual enrolled in Auburn University’s Construction Management Program, a degree-awarding program promoted to mend information and communication gaps between construction and contracting specialists.
  • Metro Savannah-area teachers join marine archaeologists, Civil War re-enactors and other specialists to learn how to integrate science, technology, engineer and math (STEM) lessons from the recovery of the ironclad CSS Georgia into their classrooms. As part of the four-day institute delivered by Georgia Tech University in Savannah, the educators visit Old Fort Jackson, the location where the under-powered warship was anchored in the early 1860s. The visit to Old Fort Jackson allowed them to learn how evolving technology impacted the soldiers and sailors at the fort and aboard the CSS Georgia. Through hands-on demonstrations, the teachers employed several basic engineering and technology actions which can be adapted to classroom instruction. They also observed underwater archaeology techniques used to locate the CSS Georgia wreck on the bottom of the Savannah River. The teachers saw first-hand the methods used to pinpoint thousands of artifacts recovered from the scuttled vessel during 2015. Leading marine archaeologist Stephen James demonstrated the sophisticated equipment used to guide divers through the zero-visibility waters of the Savannah River. The Teachers’ Institute ran from May 31 through June 3, 2016, and was funded through the community involvement portion of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP). The SHEP will deepen the Savannah harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet.

    Educators turn lessons learned into lesson plans

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The school year continued for 15 educators who returned to the classroom to unearth ways to bring curriculum to life during the CSS Georgia Teacher’s Institute held May 31 – June 3 at Georgia Tech Savannah.

  • May

    Laying the pre-foundation

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — Construction continued on the dissolved oxygen injection system at two sites along the Savannah River last week. This time-lapse video shows workers installing a cofferdam as part of what will become the foundation for a series of Speece cones.
  • A few Diamond Elementary School students view the makings of an outdoor amphitheater at the construction site of the new school May 3. Thirteen contest winners of Archer Western Contractor’s poster contest toured the site currently under construction at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Diamond students from kindergarten through sixth-grade submitted posters emphasizing safety themes in recognition of Safety Week celebrated May 2-6. The winning submissions were printed on the firm’s calendar that will be available throughout the Fort Stewart community.

    Lucky 13 tour new Diamond Elementary School site

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks garnished the construction site of the new Diamond Elementary School where 13 wide-eyed students discovered diamonds aren’t forever but they can be your best friend.
  • Jenkins High School's engineering program, located in Savannah, recently achieved Georgia STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) program certification, becoming the eighth school in Georgia to receive the accreditation and the first outside of Metro Atlanta. As industry partners with Jenkins, Corps volunteers augment academic curriculum to elevate skills in students studying STEM disciplines at the school’s engineering program.

    Corps’ partnership with school leads to academic accreditation

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A pair of Savannah District leaders form links in the chain of community partners aiding a local school to achieve academic excellence in the scientific and mathematical fields.

  • April

    An aerial shot (merged from two photos) of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse taken March 30, 2016 at high tide.

    Georgia’s smallest lighthouse sees big improvements

    TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. – After weathering hurricanes, dodging Civil War cannon volleys and enduring the incessant erosion wrought by tides and rising seas over the past 160 years, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse is getting a much-needed makeover.

  • New stress management program seeks to multiply its ranks

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Another employee support program in the Corps of Engineers’ arsenal has found a new home at the Savannah District.
  • The dredge Padre Island of Great Lakes Doc & Dredge Company, works to deepen the outer channel of the Savannah harbor as part of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) on March 30, 2016. The harbor deepening will allow larger, post-Panamax ships to visit Savannah more easily and with heavier loads. Savannah's Garden City terminal is the fourth busiest container port in the USA and the second busiest on the East Coast.

    Bird's eye view: The dredge Padre Island continues work on SHEP

    Savannah, GA -- The dredge Padre Island of Great Lakes Doc & Dredge Company, works to deepen the outer channel of the Savannah harbor as part of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) on March 30, 2016. The harbor deepening will allow larger, post-Panamax ships to visit Savannah more easily and with heavier loads. Savannah's Garden City terminal is the fourth busiest container port in the USA and the second busiest on the East Coast.
  • Aaron Murphy, a Savannah Corps forester, observes an area of activity during Thurmond Lake's Turkey Hunt April 1 held at Bussey Point Management Area. The annual event offers a handful of hopefuls the chance to hunt Eastern Wild Turkeys who inhabit the isolated stretch of forest.

    Hunter’s game dampened by stormy opponent

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Like a game of chess, the players lie in wait to outsmart their opponent’s next move. But on a morning besieged by rain, the turkeys had nature’s advantage.

  • March

    A backhoe removes trees and debris from one of two sites that will house the dissolved oxygen system on the Savannah River.

    Workers prepare site for dissolved oxygen system

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Just like a nurse who swabs an arm before injecting vaccine into a patient, workers began clearing debris and underbrush from land set to house dissolved oxygen injection equipment for the Savannah River.
  • Participants of Fort Stewart's Leadership Development Program tour fuel island at Hunter Army Airfield March 4. The crew of mostly combat engineers learned about projects not typically encountered on Army posts, and the scope of opportunities offered across Corps projects worldwide.

    Diversity of Corps missions spotlighted during leadership development program

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Engineering encompasses more than demolition and construction – tearing things down

  • February

    The new sonic drill rig on site to perform groundwater investigations near Fort Jackson, South Carolina Jan. 26. The drill rig is a piece of high-tech machinery that is the only one of its kind within the federal government. The Savannah District uses the sonic drill in subsurface and geotechnical investigation projects, serving various state and federal customers throughout the nation. The new sonic drill gives Savannah's drilling team increased capability to drill through all types of soils and most rock.

    Savannah’s exclusive technology attracts work from around the nation

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A powerful tool enables the Savannah District Explorations Unit to provide unique capabilities in challenging terrains across the nation. The new sonic drill rig - a piece of high-tech machinery that is the only one of its kind within the federal government - can be used in subsurface and geotechnical investigation projects, serving various federal customers throughout the nation.

  • January

    Dynamic duos to emerge through new mentoring program

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A new cooperative for this year’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) will pair candidates with thriving professionals for the district’s upcoming Mentorship Program launching in late January.

  • December

    Risk cadre members observe newly placed riprap slope protection placed to prevent erosion on a steep slope at the Beach City Dam in Ohio for the Huntington District July 2012.

    Risk cadre renews commitment to Corps’ most vulnerable structures

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Across the Corps’ portfolio of dams and levees requiring rehabilitation, a risk cadre team here sets out to identify issues that could lead to further degradation of structures and pose economic or life-threatening risks to surrounding communities.
  • Matthew Rorick (back), Jason Lavecchia (front) and Jimmy Luo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District work to provide emergency power to areas surrounding Annville, Penn., in response to Superstorm Sandy. As part of the joint federal response led by FEMA, the Corps of Engineers currently has 69 FEMA mission assignments exceeding a total of $254 million.

    Savannah’s power team generates national recognition

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — As the Northeast confronted the trauma of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the Savannah District’s emergency power team mobilized as part of an interagency response to support the New York Engineer District and provide relief to the ravished region.

  • November

    A row of 6.4-inch Brooke shells wait in buckets filled with seawater prior to being inerted, Nov. 4. Technicians inerted 170 Brooke shells and Dahlgren projectiles in two months.

    CSS Georgia’s parting shot

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — Ben Redmond and Matt Christiansen are breathing a little easier now that the most dangerous part of their job is over. The pair, along with a handful of engineers and technicians, spent the last two months inerting 170 Dahlgren and 6.4-inch Brooke projectiles that Navy divers recovered from the CSS Georgia this summer.