After 117 years, Great Falls gets its water back. New whitewater rapids to boost SC town
South Carolina Sen. Mike Fanning rolled the legs of his suit pants above his knees and stepped barefoot into the cold Catawba River.
Waving a handkerchief, he shouted to a dozen kayakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, the first launch in the history of the brand new whitewater here in Great Falls, S.C., make some noise!”
The kayakers and attendees at Wednesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony cheered. He counted down from five.
There were swoosh sounds as colorful kayaks launched in the dark waterway lined with trees. After a short paddle, the kayakers — barely visible from a bridge — moved into a vast lake.
In the distance, the rapids formed.
More than a hundred people gathered in this small Chester County, S.C., town to celebrate the opening of a new access area on the river for whitewater rafting, paddling and other recreation. The opening is just one part of a large-scale project that has a unique history.
The channel on the river had not seen water in 117 years. Dams were built to divert water to power multiple mills and the community.
Duke Energy will officially open one of two bypass channels on Saturday for public use. The bypass is designed for leisurely kayaking and canoeing and is appropriate for families and individuals.
A short bypass, which is described as challenging, will open in May. The short bypass is for professional kayakers and experienced enthusiasts.
Part of a larger plan
The river access areas and bypass channels are part of the Great Falls-Dearborn project — a large-scale design that has many components, including hiking trails, a state park, an historic visitor’s center, a pedestrian bridge, canoe and kayak launch sites, parking and restrooms. This all spans across nearly three miles along the scenic river.
The state park will be on Dearborn Island.
Duke Energy finalized a lease with the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism in early February to help the state develop a park on the 600-acre island. There will be trails and a campground. Duke is providing $1.5 million for the park, which may take several years to build, said Christy Churchill, the project’s recreation planner.
But Wednesday’s focus was the water.
Kevin Colburn is national stewardship director for American Whitewater, a river conservation organization. He described the bypasses as “otherworldly.”
“It’s sort of prehistoric,” he said. “You see these reptiles, these giant birds, fish the size of your leg — it’s not normal. It’s a very cool, unique, beautiful place.”
Colburn said the river is going to “roar back to life.”
“I mean, it’s really hard to build good whitewater, like shockingly hard,” he said. “It’s a whole lot of science and a whole lot of art. And they nailed it.”
The rapids
The long bypass is a 2.25 mile stretch for leisure kayaking and canoeing and has Class II and III rapids.
The short bypass will have faster water flowing over three-quarters of a mile that will have Class III and IV rapids. Duke Energy controls how much water it releases into the channels. The flows are 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Water enters the long bypass through two flows. The larger flow provides water for paddlers downstream and for aquatic habitat enhancement, according to Ben Williamson, a spokesperson for Duke Energy. Paddlers should enter the long bypass through the safe-boater bypass, he said.
Signs at the Nitrolee Access Area, where paddlers will enter the long bypass, show paddlers how to access the channel and gives details about appropriate watercraft and equipment, said Ellen Morton, Duke Energy spokesperson.
Churchill said opening the short bypass and trails has been delayed due to supply chain and construction hurdles.
“You can only get to the island to build those trails by barge,” she said. “And so sometimes, we’ve had days where we just couldn’t get there with all of our equipment.”
Building on challenging terrain
Tim Huffman, senior project manager for the project, said in 2014, his boss asked his opinion about the project.
“I told him that aside from the fact that the project was in two places, a crows flight, mile apart — one at the bottom of a river cliff, the other merely totally inaccessible, that there was no access to power, that the entire effort would be in the middle of a choke point in a river prone to flooding, and that we had zero idea of what we were actually supposed to do, that I saw no problems,” Huffman said jokingly.
Huffman described the short bypass as a “high tech piece,” and said they used marine fleet tugboats and a tower crane to “reach the unreachable.”
Huffman named nearly 85 people who worked on the project.
Opportunity for Great Falls
Fanning described the project as a “game changer.”
“We’re anticipating larger numbers of people coming down here regularly to get an experience that they can get nowhere else,” he said.
Great Falls Mayor Joshua Brantley said the access areas are going to bring opportunity to the town.
“There’s a ton on our plate, with what we’re going to have to do to try to manage and maintain the abundance of the tourists that will be here,” Brantley said.
Potential investors in the town have contacted him about bringing in jobs, retail, housing and mixed-use development, he said.
“It’s a matter of us really digging deep down into a master plan and really determining what is the best fit for Great Falls,” Brantley said.
Glinda Coleman, executive director of the Great Falls Home Town Association — a community and economic development non-profit— said developers have approached the town with ideas about using some of the abandoned mills, bringing in coffee shops, restaurants and places to stay.
Coleman did not elaborate on specific details, but said they are in negotiations.
The town association’s mission has been to bring nature-based tourism to the area, she said.
The association has plans for other trails, kayaking opportunities aside from whitewater, bird-watching, camping, cycling and plans for a “vibrant” Main Street in the “very near future.”
“Because of where Great Falls is, the river being here, it’s going to really be a great opportunity for growth in our area,” Coleman said. “And the whitewater is just the beginning.”
Part of Duke’s licensing process.
The access area and bypass channels don’t have have official names.
Duke Energy started construction on the project in 2020. As part of a new license for the Catawba-Wateree Project in 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requires Duke to provide recreation, enhancement to water quality and quantity, wildlife and land conservation along the river.
The main focus of this project is to bring water back to the two channels, which once made up the 50-foot Great Falls of the Catawba, the town’s namesake.
How to get there?
Great Falls is between Charlotte and Columbia, and both cities are connected by Interstate 77. Charlotte is roughly an hour north of Great Falls (about 55 miles from Uptown). Columbia is 45 minutes from Great Falls (46 miles away). The drive from Rock Hill, S.C. is about 35 minutes.
Traveling south from Charlotte, a driver would take Exit 55. Traveling north from Columbia, take Exit 48.
This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 11:02 AM.
