‘Going to take a while’: Army Corps gives post-Helene lake update
APPLING, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - With temperatures warming up, we all want to retreat to our favorite spots at the lake, but there is still significant damage left behind from Hurricane Helene.
We got an update from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to see what it looks like.
“The sheer devastation here has been enormous,” said Colonel Ronald Sturgeon, Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “This is going to take a while. This is going to be a multi-year effort.”
After Hurricane Helene hit Sept. 27, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers instantly got to work clearing roads and restoring power in their 51 recreation areas around the lake.
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Now, 39 of the 51 are open, but open doesn’t mean back to normal.
“The numbers are a little deceiving,” said Christina Alford, Thurmond Project operations project manager. “When I say they’re open, they just have debris pushed aside to allow visitors to use those facilities. We still have all the debris to remove from the park, and we still have infrastructure repair, and many of those are unknown.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not received any additional funding for clean-up efforts.
They’re a federal agency and can’t use FEMA funds.
They have applied for additional funds through the Federal Highway istration but have not heard back on whether they’ve been approved.
“With the money that we do have, we are maximizing that, and today is a reflection of that,” said Sturgeon.
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We’re approaching seven months since Hurricane Helene, and we are still feeling the effects. Some of those lasting impacts are on our trails.
500,000 cubic yards of debris is in need of removal on Corps land around the lake.
“Although we’ve been hard at work, less than 1% of the debris has been removed from our sites,” said Garrett Bramlette, Strom Thurmond Project recreation chief ranger.
They recently obtained a tract of land to take debris and have already hauled 200 truckloads to the site.
West Dam Park is where we visited on Tuesday, and crews were actively removing debris. They hope to have it back open by the end of the summer.
We know a lot of CSRA residents want to get up there and help with the cleanup efforts.
Now that more cleanup has started, they will be holding more volunteer days. To sign up, call the Thurmond Lake visitor center, and they will get you on the list.
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