Dam project could create rapids in downtown Columbus for rafting

COLUMBUS - A proposal before the city council could create a rapids in downtown Columbus for rafting by altering dams on the Chattahoochee River. <br> <br> The council will vote on the proposal on Tuesday. <br> <br> With the possibility of federal money funding the multimillion-dollar project, the Chattahoochee Fall Line Alliance yesterday asked the council to join the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a sponsor of the study. <br> <br> There would be no initial cost to the city to sponsor the study. <br> <br> Two studies, one by a consultant hired to create a whitewater course on the river and one by the Corps of Engineers, have concluded the project is feasible. <br> <br> The next step is a thorough study by the Corps of Engineers, which could take at least a year and cost $400,000, which the Corps would pay. <br> <br> John Anderson, an architect and one of the creators of the 1996 Olympic whitewater course on the Ocoee River, has said if the two dams -- one at the Eagle and Phenix mill and the other at City Mills -- were breached or removed, a rapids suitable for recreational rafting, kayaking and fishing could be created. <br> <br> The city could qualify for up to five million dollars in a federal matching grant for the project and the city would be required to match it with $2.69 million. Those funds could come from public or private sources.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/194651