Griffin Dewatering Southeast, LLC was honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2006 OPAL (Outstanding Projects and Leaders) awards. The award was received at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. Griffin was recognized for it’s contribution and work, along with SCE&G, PCR, Barnard Construction Co., Inc. and Kleinfelder, on the Saluda Dam Remediation Project in Columbia South Carolina.

The project began, when S. Carolina Electric and Gas Co. officials discovered that the dam in their Saluda Hydroelectric Project could liquefy during a seismic event equal in intensity to the quake that struck Charleston in 1886. The project was a significant undertaking. In addition to keeping the 202km2 hydroelectric reservoir, rimmed with businesses and houses, nearly full and keep a hydroelectric plant and coal fired steam plant operational, while also ensuring the safety of the 120,000 residents living in the flood plain near Columbia, SC, there were also environmental concerns regarding the wetlands encircling Saluda Dam. Thanks to the combined efforts of top engineering and construction firms, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on June 23, 2005, to celebrate this engineering and construction feat, which spanned a decade.