Soil and Water Commission seeks $150,000 for routine watershed-dam maintenance, plans November study on breaching non-permitted dams

Mitch Attaway, representing the state Soil and Water Conservation Commission, told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on March 18 that the commission seeks $150,000 in state funding to support routine maintenance of watershed dams across Georgia.

The request would create a recurring line item for maintenance previously funded with bond dollars. Attaway said Georgia has about 200 Category 1 dams (structures where failure could cause loss of life) and that roughly 60 of those have been formerly permitted under the Georgia Safe Dams Act.

Attaway gave examples to explain the value of routine maintenance: in FY24 the commission routinely maintained 62 dams for about $165,000 (an average of roughly $2,700 per dam for routine clearing, bush-hogging, spraying and small metal repairs). He said that properly maintaining a dam can preserve the opportunity to seek federal rehabilitation cost-sharing: when a dam is properly maintained, the Natural Resources Conservation Service will contribute roughly 65% of rehab costs with the state paying about 35%.

The commission asked the subcommittee for permission to prepare a report about breaching non-permitted dams and to return findings in November. Attaway said the report would identify dams that are not currently permitted and analyze risks and potential relief options.

Why it matters: Category 1…