Santee Cooper says the Waccamaw River has crested without overtopping the second ash pond at the former Grainger Generating Station.
A press release from Santee Cooper says the Waccamaw River has crested and water did not overtop Pond 2, which still holds about 200,000 tons of ash.
“Santee Cooper took several steps to prepare for the flooding, including filling both ponds with water to stabilize the dikes, drawing baseline water and sediment samples from the ponds and river, placing floating containment boom throughout the ponds, and installing an AquaDam and silt fencing on top of Pond 2,” states the release. “The AquaDam added more than 30 inches in height to the Pond 2 dike and prevented the river from overtopping the dike.”
Santee Cooper also says they will continue to sample water and sediment quality in the pond and the river while the company “dewaters” the ponds and that sampling results so far are “within permitted requirements.”
“Once the ponds are dewatered, Santee Cooper will return to the ash excavation project, which it started in 2014 and accelerated after Hurricane Matthew in 2016,” the release also says. “Most of that ash is being beneficially reused by the cement and concrete products industry. Before the flood, the excavation was set to be complete by early next year. The DHEC-approved closure plan calls for Santee Cooper to return the area to wetlands.”