Santee Cooper will install an “AquaDam” at an ash pond at the former Grainger Generating Station near Conway.
A press release from Santee Cooper says an inflatable AquaDam as been secured “to assist in protecting the dike around Pond 2” at the former generating station “as the adjacent Waccamaw River continues to rise.”
According to the release, the inflatable dam will arrive on Wednesday evening and should be fully installed by late Thursday.
“Specifically, Santee Cooper has 6,000 linear feet of AquaDam, enough to cover the dike around Pond 2, where most of the ash still onsite remains. The AquaDam is being assembled next to the silt fencing along the pond dike.” states the release. “Once placed and inflated with water, the dam will add 30 inches to the top of the dike. The dam will be deployed in 100 foot sections, is 7 feet wide at the base for stability, and the sections are pumped full of river water at the site.”
Pond one is too narrow to use the AquaDam and nearly all of the ash the pond once held has been excavated, according to the release. Santee Cooper has been excavating ash ponds at the station since 2014 and about 90 percent of ash has been removed.
