Anchoring Down in the Peach State

ABSTRACT ONLY - Stevens Creek Dam is located 8.5 miles north of Augusta, GA on the Savanah River, just downstream of the confluence with Stevens Creek. Features of the dam include a 2,000-foot concrete gravity spillway with four- and five-foot-high hinged flashboards, 388-foot-long powerhouse, a discontinued navigation lock, and two non-overflow structures, totaling 2,635-feet of water retaining structure. The high hazard classified Stevens Creek Project had forty-six post tensioned rock anchors installed in 2002 and 2003 on the eastern side of the spillway and west non-overflow structure. Based on stability and hydraulic analyses completed since the 2002-2003 anchoring, additional anchoring for the remaining portions of the spillway and sluiceway structures were necessary to address sliding instability. Anchoring of the structures was completed in 2021 utilizing fully bonded multi-strand anchors instead of the 2002/2003 greased and sheathed anchors. The owner, designer, and contractor worked as a team to address unknowns and surprises that arose during the construction process for an over 100-year-old dam. The presentation of Stevens Creek Dam compares the two phases of anchoring, reviewing pros and cons from the perspective of design and constructability. Construction approach is compared between the two phases of anchoring as it relates to current versus past environmental requirements. The unknown challenges encountered from differences in the constructed dam and the 100-year-old design drawings are reviewed and the resulting lessons learned are addressed.