Corps cleared to use all four Russell pumpback turbines | The Augusta Chronicle

More than a decade after litigation ended over Russell Dam’s reversible turbines, the Army Corps of Engineers was cleared Saturday to operate all four hydropower units at one time during the hot summer months when they are most needed.

“We have not yet fired up all four at one time, but we’ve officially made notice they are all available,” said Keith Crowe, Russell’s operations project manager.

The dam has four conventional turbines and four reversible “pump-back” units that can pump water from Thur­mond Lake back into Lake Russell for reuse in power generation.

The pumpback technology, which is known to cause fish kills, spurred environmental lawsuits that lingered for 14 years before a 2002 settlement that required the corps to complete certain mitigation measures before it could operate all four units at one time.

via Corps cleared to use all four Russell pumpback turbines | The Augusta Chronicle.