Future Of Ga. Port Expansion Hinges On Oxygen Injectors To Help Fish Breathe

February 25th, 2019

Four cone-shaped machines designed to mix oxygen into river water and inject it back into the Savannah River stand on the shore of the waterway. The Army Corps of Engineers is testing the machines to see if they boost the river’s oxygen levels enough to help fish breathe. A court settlement requires that the agency show the machines work before it can proceed with deepening the shipping channel linking the Port of Savannah to the Atlantic Ocean.

Russ Bynum / Associated Press

A loud hum drones from a twisting array of machines and pipes connected to four towering metal cones that mix water from the Savannah River with oxygen filtered from the air before pumping it all back down to the river bottom at a rate of 30,000 gallons each minute.

The Army Corps of Engineers has finished the first of two large oxygen-injection stations on the river. The machines are the agency’s $100 million solution to help fish breathe along a 27-mile stretch linking the Port of Savannah to the Atlantic Ocean. Otherwise, the waterway is expected to lose oxygen toward the bottom as it’s deepened by 5 feet to make room for larger cargo ships.

If the machines fail to boost oxygen levels in the river sufficiently, it could jam up the whole $973 million harbor expansion project with dredging only halfway done. That’s because a 2013 court settlement between the Army Corps, conservation groups and state officials in neighboring South Carolina hinges on proof that the injectors work as promised.