(Based on Story by Gary Glancy in
Spartanburg Herald - Journal Online)
Wofford has hosted "The Dam Symposium: Small-Scale Dams
& Hydro from Three Perspectives" as part of the Santee
Cooper Lecture Series on Sustainability & Energy.
“The Dam Symposium” began with a public discussion at 7:30
p.m., Tuesday, March 16, 2010, in Leonard Auditorium
on the Wofford campus. It continued at 2 p.m. Wednesday,
March 17 with a tour of the Glendale site and dam,
followed by an informal discussion at the Goodall
Environmental Studies Center, next to the Glendale post
office.
Last fall, Wofford opened its Goodall Environmental
Studies Center in Glendale, which the college developed
through a $1.2 million renovation of the old mill office
donated to the college by previous owner Glyn Morris, as
well as three acres of surrounding property along the
river. During the Symposium, three speakers led a public
discussion of the role of small-scale hydro in our energy
future.
"Since we received the Santee Cooper grant for our
Sustainability & Energy series, I've always had the
idea of doing (one) event a year where we would take an
issue in sustainability and energy and explore it from
different perspectives," said John Lane, a Wofford English
professor and director of the Goodall Center. "So it made
sense to make the first one small dams, because there are
bunches of them in Spartanburg County and we happen to own
one. So I thought, why not bring in a scientist, an
activist and a writer who writes about such issues, and
have them present their perspectives and then open the
floor for questions."
Lane said that while the potential for the type of
hydroelectric power generated from the Glendale site in
the 19th century no longer feasibly exists, the college is
considering a small alternative hydro on the dam as a
demonstration project for Wofford students, local schools
and visiting groups to learn about local history. One
Wofford student is already working on interpretive signs
for the Palmetto Conservation Foundation walking trail on
the grounds, including one that explains past and possible
future uses of the dam.
The three speakers for the symposium were John Seebach,
chair of the Hydropower Reform Coalition who has spent
recent years heavily involved in dam removal projects,
Lane said; Ginger Strand, a New York City-based author
whose book, "inventing Niagara," traces the course of
natural wonder in America and illuminates what the falls
tell us about our history, environment and ourselves; and
Dave Hargett, principal and senior consultant with the
Greer-based environmental consultancy HRI.
"What we're trying to do is open the thing wide open for
talking about our dam and what its future will be," Lane
said. "We still have a lot more education and study to do,
but we take our responsibility as dam owners very
seriously."
