Repairs on the dam at Willow Lake in the Jones Creek subdivision in Evans are complete.
In January, prospective buyers of the Jones Creek Golf Club drained Willow Lake to assess how much repair the dam required before refilling the lake the following month. The dam was severely eroded, and the county had major concerns about the crumbling dam collapsing.
“The dam was in really bad shape,” said Tripp Nanney, president of the Jones Creek Homeowners Association. “There were a lot of people who felt like the dam might breach and cause some potential damage downstream.”
The county asked Julian Saul, owner of Willow Lake and Jones Creek golf course, to rectify the situation, and he complied, said Nanney. Starting this summer, crews began work on rebuilding the dam.
Nanney notes that the current state of the dam is in good order, both operationally and cosmetically.
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“The valves are working because there is water coming out of the drainpipe now,” he said. “It would have to literally flood a significant downpour to reach the spillway. But if and when that happens, the dam has been repaired and is in really a good shape.”
What’s left now, Nanney said, is for the repaired barrier to undergo inspection from the county, after which Saul has said that he will close the valves and allow the lake to return to its natural state.
The fate of the golf course, which has been closed since 2018, is still undetermined as no buyers are currently seeking to acquire the property. The Jones Creek Clubhouse, however, owned by Herbert Homes, is currently up for sale.
“There have been several loose inquiries made to Columbia County officials related to purchasing the clubhouse at Jones Creek,” said Nanney. “However, no one has met with Columbia County to get the paperwork required to move forward with a purchase that would require rezoning.”
The golf course and the clubhouse zoned as part of the same planned unit development. Any new project, including a freestanding restaurant, would not be possible without rezoning.
“The residents of Jones Creek have been told that without very strong slash overwhelming support from the residents, a rezoning is highly unlikely,” Nanney said, adding that homeowners at Jones Creek are not likely to support rezoning the property for development. ““I think the residents overall are still holding out for potential golf course.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
