CU leaders discuss concerns over saddle dike seepage By Lauren Pierce 8 hrs ago CLEMSON — Clemson University leaders want to ensure the university is not held responsible for ongoing seepage concerns at the Clemson Saddle Dike.
During Thursday’s Clemson University Board of Trustees’ Research and Economic Development Committee meeting, trustee Smyth McKissick raised the issue during an update from Angie Leidinger, the university’s senior vice president for external affairs and senior advisor to the trustees.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Savannah District has identified ongoing seepage concerns beneath the Clemson Saddle Dike, which is part of the federal project that manages Lake Hartwell.
McKissick said he was concerned the situation could become a larger problem for the university if the public does not understand who is responsible for the dike and its maintenance.
“Should we use your community relations desire to improve those kinds of things? Should we use potentially this infrastructure or MARSOC to maybe do some town hall-type meetings to help people understand exactly what’s going on, exactly what entails and exactly who’s responsible?” he asked. “I hate to see the university to be branded with the dike issues that really are the purview of the Corps of Engineers.”
In late September, the Corps held a virtual meeting to explain the issue and answer questions about the lake level restrictions because of a “seepage deterioration path” during an ongoing drought.
McKissick maintained the university “ought to put this fire out while we can.”
“It’s not our responsibility to maintain it, and if it leaks, we don’t have the capability to fix it,” he said.
Leidinger agreed with McKissick’s concerns and said the university could use its community relations structure to address the issue. She added the university’s president Benjamin Ayers also asked the Corps if it could rename the dike “something other than “Clemson Saddle Dike” during a meeting.
Oconee comparison
McKissick also seemingly compared the situation to last year’s controversy involving Clemson University and a proposed development in Newry, an unincorporated community in Oconee County.
The debate centered on a proposed development of hundreds of acres that included residential and commercial plans, along with the possibility of a research and innovation park associated with the university.
Late last year, Oconee County Council Chairman Matt Durham raised concerns about the project’s proposed housing density and the relationship between Clemson’s then-president Jim Clements and United Homes Group, a development company. Durham questioned whether the university’s involvement and communications surrounding the proposal had been accurately represented and was not a conflict of interest.
Clemson maintained that it had not partnered or endorsed the proposed residential development. The university said its involvement was limited to preliminary discussions about a potential research and innovation complex but that it decided not to pursue that concept by November 2024.
The dispute led to an investigation by the South Carolina Office of the Inspector General. In April, the inspector general’s office reported its investigation found no legal wrongdoing or conflicts of interest in Clemson’s actions related to Newry.
“It’s not unlike Oconee County last year,” McKissick said of the seepage problem. “We got a big mess out of something that really was a non-issue, and I don’t want us to have the exact same thing with the dike.”
Corps continues to address seepage
The Corps said it identified seepage concerns at the Clemson Saddle Dike in 2015 and has continued to study the problem. Corps officials have explained water moving through soil beneath the dike can gradually erode material and create voids, making it necessary to evaluate the underlying geology before selecting a permanent fix. A dam safety modification study will also be completed to help determine a permanent solution.
The Corps has said temporary restrictions on Lake Hartwell water levels are intended to reduce pressure on the dike while engineers develop a long-term solution. The restrictions have implications for hydropower operations, recreation, local communities and businesses, although the Corps has said there is no immediate danger to the public.
The Corps also said returning Lake Hartwell to full pool depends in part on future flows and that it will continue operating under its drought management plan.
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