Based on an action by the State of South Carolina, US, USACE was stopped from using the reversible turbines to develop hydro power. It was forecast in 1999 that up to six million fish could be killed by the operation of the turbines. The court order was lifted in June 2002, and it appears that about two million fish were affected in the ensuing period of about 1.5 years.
The dam, located on the South Carolina-Georgia border, has four conventional turbines and four reversible turbines that pump water from Lake Thurmond back to Lake Russell for reuse in power generation.
