At Georgia port, river respirators to help fish breathe

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — As government engineers work to keep the nation's fourth-busiest seaport from losing its competitive edge, they are also planning what amounts to a massive science project to ensure fish in the harbor can still breathe.


Buying and installing the machines costs a hefty $70 million, plus yearly operating costs of $1.2 million. And the manufacturer says they've never been used for a project of this scale.


Deeper water will mean less oxygen toward the river bottom for bacteria, worms, shrimp, crabs and fish. But some scientists aren't sure the machines will be able to boost low oxygen levels as planned along 27 miles of the river.

"It's like putting the river on a respirator," said Chris DeScherer, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has sued on behalf of environmentalists who say the project would do irreparable harm.



"It's like giving these systems an extra breath," said Horne, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. "If I were a fish, I would vote for it hands down."





Standards imposed by Georgia and South Carolina say the river at minimum should have 4 milligrams of oxygen per liter of water. The Army Corps says the harbor's oxygen level tends to stay above 6 milligrams in the winter, but in places can sink to 3 milligrams per liter during the hot summers.



The Corps plans to switch on the machines only during the hottest months — June through September. It's not a temporary fix.

"We expect to run them forever," said William Bailey, planning division chief for the Army Corps' Savannah District.

One species of particular concern in the Savannah River is the shortnose sturgeon, a primitive-looking fish with bony plates and a long snout. It's been listed as endangered since 1967. Blue crabs and striped bass also live in the harbor, but traffic from cargo ships makes it unpopular for fishing.

Shortnose sturgeons are bottom feeders. Deepening the Savannah harbor could shrink a portion of their habitat in the summer, the Corps concluded, unless oxygen is restored mechanically. The National Marine Fisheries Service, which monitors the endangered fish, last year called the proposal "a very risky operation with a high degree of uncertainty."

Steve Hatchel, president of the company that makes Speece cones, said he's confident they would work in the Savannah River, the company's largest project to date. However, while most projects use one to four machines, the Savannah harbor will need 12 cones to pump in 40,000 pounds of oxygen a day. State officials want them installed before dredging begins.

"We've worked on fairly large reservoirs and dams, but nothing that's been 27 miles long," said Hatchel of Indianapolis-based Eco Oxygen Technologies.




"I'm not saying the Speece cones may not have an effect," Conrads said. "But with the data they collected, they could not quantify to me what the impact was."




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