Officials brainstorm on economic benefit of river basin

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — A barge traveling up the Chattahoochee River could reduce the transportation cost of valuable industrial cargo.
Barge traffic on the river would also reduce the number of trucks traveling across Wiregrass highways by about 58 per barge, said Homer Hirt Jr. of the Lake Seminole Association, out of Sneads, Fla. Hirt was one of nearly two dozen people who gathered in Bainbridge, Ga., on Wednesday morning to discuss the economic importance of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River system.
The ACF River system runs about 280 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to Columbus, Ga., with an additional 28 miles up the Flint River to Bainbridge, Ga.
“It’s the ability to bring in things that can’t be brought in any other way,” said Thomas Moorer, who works with Southern Nuclear Operating Company. He gave a presentation on the ACF river basin which included a brief history and what could be done to improve the river system.
With major highways across the Southeast already crowded with tractor trailers and the railroad industry left with its own challenges, navigation through the river basin will be the key to sustaining the economy in the Southeast, Moorer said. The development of the river basin could lead to not only industrial benefit, but recreational benefit too, including more marinas in areas like Eufaula and Bainbridge, Ga.
Moorer gave two examples of how improvement of the river system could benefit the area, including when Southern Nuclear used the water system twice in the last decade to ship heavy duty parts to Farley Nuclear Power Plant.
In the past the water system had support through regular maintenance with dredging, and locks and dams. A lot of the regulations since the 1960s and 1970s have changed, making maintenance more difficult. Moorer said this includes disposal of the sediment and sand dredged from along the river basin.
Navigation of the river system peaked in the 1980s with about 1.2 million tons moved, mostly of high value cargo. More than two decades later only carefully scheduled shipments can be completed through the river system.
Members of the Apalachicola Riverkeeper, a protection group for the Apalachicola River and Bay area, along with two ranking members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, also attended the event.
Successful use of the river system could start with seasonal navigation, along with agreements with Florida environmental agencies and working closely with the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure the water control plan needs are met.
“I’m very encouraged,” Moorer said. “What I see is a budding relationship between the Tri-River association and Riverkeepers, and the Corps of Engineers seems very willing to listen.”
Judson Edwards of Troy University also spoke about a recent university study on the river system’s economic benefit. The study, which included a 24-county area across southern Georgia, Alabama and parts of Florida, showed its proper development could not only help recruit industry, but provide a cheaper method of industrial transportation, Edwards said.
“Navigation could open opportunities for industries that move large amounts of goods,” Edwards said.
Hirt, who ran the Jackson County Port Authority for 12 years out of Sneads, suggested people talk to towing companies while working on ways to develop the river system.
“I’m the only person who has earned a living operating on the ACF system,” Hirt said of the group. “The farmers here need navigation if at all possible. We’re all tied together by the river, and what it can do for us in tourism.”