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Projects & Progress & Plans
Sibley Mill Purchase Finalized
 (August 31, 2010) The Augusta Canal Authority now owns Sibley Mill. The Authority closed the $800,000 sale with prior owner Avondale Mills, Inc. on Tuesday, said Authority Executive Director Dayton Sherrouse. The property includes the landmark 19th Century textile mill, outbuildings, the hydroelectric plant and approximately 20 acres of land stretching from the banks of the Augusta Canal to the Savannah River. The property is of national historic significance as the site of the Confederate States of America Powderworks from 1862-1865. The Authority will stabilize and secure the buildings, perform required environmental remediation and then market the property nationally for private development.
New Picnic Shelters at Savannah Rapids Park Completed
(July 12, 2010) Three new picnic shelters are now available for use at Savannah Rapids Park. The shelters are part of Columbia County's Phase II improvements at the part. Shelters are available for rental through Columbia County Rental Facilities and Venues Department by calling (706) 868-3349 or go online to www.savannahrapids.com.
Towpath access between pump station & I-20 Restored
(March 15, 2010) Augusta Utilities Department contractors completed work to reinforce canal banks and restored pedestrian access to the towpath in mid-March, 2010
The work involved installing a compacted clay buttress along the river edge of the narrowest portion of the canal embankment, just downstream of the Rock Creek gates.
Restoration to Confederate Powderworks Chimney Completed
 (March 15, 2010) Repairs to the 148-year old Confederate Powderworks Chimney wrapped up in March, 2010. The Augusta Canal Authority hired International Chimney Corporation, a New York-based firm that specializes in historic restoration, to perform the work.
The restoration included re-pointing and replacing missing brick and repairing a crack on the west wall. The original cast-iron cap was repaired and covered to protect the interior of the chimney from water. Cost of the project is $192,000.
The Augusta Canal Authority was granted title to the Confederate Powderworks Chimney by the City of Augusta in July. Money raised by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Augusta SPLOST funding covered the costs.
The chimney, a prominent landmark on the canal’s first level, is the only extant above-ground structure built by the Confederate States of America. It is all that remains of the CSA gunpowder “manufactory,” 28 buildings that stretched for two miles along the banks of the canal. The works supplied most of the powder for the Southern side of the Civil War. The massive complex, built by CSA Colonel George Washington Rains, produced nearly 3 million pounds of high-quality gunpowder between 1861 and 1865. In 1872, when the abandoned powderworks property was scheduled for demolition to allow the canal to be enlarged, Col. Rains asked the City of Augusta to save the chimney as a “fitting monument to the unnumbered dead who sleep on the battlefields of the South.”
(October 14, 2009) Work begins on Savannah Rapids Park Renovation
Last week contractors began removing trees near the graveled parking area at Savannah Rapids Headgate Park in preparation for Phase I of the park’s renovation plan. The project will reorient and expand parking areas and re-landscape the current paved lot. A loop road will be constructed connecting parking area to the existing road along the canal’s south bank. The project also includes construction of three picnic pavilions and continuation of the bike path connecting the Tow Path to the Evans-to-Locks multi-use trail. The project will take an estimated five months to complete, barring weather delays.
Clearing, grading and paving will create hazardous conditions for several months. There may be periodic closing of the roadway along the canal’s south bank and the pedestrian bridge as work progresses. Park users will continue to have access to the Augusta Canal towpath via the Headgate crossing. Users are asked to obey all posted signs.
This is a project of Columbia County Government, funded in part by Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and the Georgia Department of Transportation. Phase II was approved in the 2011-2016 SPLOST cycle and will include construction of a restroom/vending structure near the east end of the site.
(May 2009) Canal Rewatered. Towpath Access Restored
Joggers, walkers and cyclist regained access to the full length of the Augusta Canal towpath as of 5 p.m. Friday, May 8, according to information supplied by the construction company performing work on the city waterworks raw water pumping station. Work will continue on the project, but safety fencing will allow pedestrians to pass by the work areas. The entry point accessed via Eisenhower Drive or Goodrich Street had been closed for several months. The bridge across the canal at Eisenhower Park remains closed.
(Januray 2009) Construction Project Requires Canal Draw-Down in early 2009
 The Augusta Canal will be drained of water for its entire length from early January through mid-April, 2009. The Canal will be emptied to allow Augusta Utilities Department contractors to install two sixty-inch water lines underneath the canal. Repairs and maintenance to the Canal banks and other structures also will be conducted during the draw-down. The Petersburg Boats will be out of service for canal tours during this period. Normal canal operations are expected to resume in early March. The Augusta Canal Interpretive Center will remain open for normal business despite the draining of the canal.
Questions & Answers about the Draw-Down
1. When? January 26 through April 6 or later, estimated.*
2. Why? The City of Augusta Utilities Department is working on major improvements to the raw water pumping station, located at the end of Goodrich Street, approximately four miles from the canal's headgates. The station was originally built in 1899 and still provides water for the city, but it is time to upgrade much of the equipment and prepare the station for service into the 21st century.
3. What sort of projects will be done? Two new pipes will be placed underground beneath the canal to carry the raw water from the canal to the water treatment plant at Daniel Village. Also, while the canal is dry, the Augusta Utilities Department will repair areas of bank erosion, remove some fallen trees and do maintenance on the hydropower plant at Enterprise Mill.
4. How will the canal be drained? Control gates will be closed at the headgate at the Savannah Rapids and the remaining water will exit through the mills tailraces and other drainage structures.
5. How will this affect the water supply? Under normal operations, the canal is a significant source of Augusta's water. During the draw-down new, diesel-powered back-up pumps will draw water directly from the Savannah River and pump it to the treatment plant on Highland Avenue.
6. Will the whole canal be emptied? Yes, but there will be some water iremaining n some sections
7. When was the last time the Canal was completely drained? No records exist but it has been many years since the entire canal has been drained.
8. How will this affect Petersburg Boat Tours and recreational canal use? There will be no boat tours from January 8 until March 9. However, reservations will be taken for school and group trips, which will resume March 10*. The walking and bike trails and towpath will be open for users, although some temporary closing can be expected near the Raw Water pumping station construction site.
9. When will boat tours begin again? General public tours are expected to resume around March 30.
10. Will the Canal Interpretive Center be open? The Canal Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill will be open on winter schedule: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
For more information:
• City of Augusta Utilities Department; Drew Goins, 706-312-4160, email dgoins@augustaga.gov
*Timeframe may vary depending on progress of projects |
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