Gray Media paints the picture for Halloween, 2019

WASHINGTON (GrayDC) -- Lawmakers from Georgia and South Carolina expressed concern about the ver Lock and Dam.

“I’m just appalled," said South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson.

The Army Corps decided to replace the Lock and Dam with a smaller dam, calling a rock weir. The selected option would lower the height of the river, putting the surrounding areas at possible risk of flood.

Wilson said he had a conversation with the General of the Army Corps of Engineers in Washington and the Colonel in Savannah. He said he told them they were making "an absolutely wrong decision".

Congressman Rick Allen, a Republican from Georgia, said their next steps would be a lawsuit against the Army Corps due to their misuse of current permit rules. He was disappointed to hear the news, especially considering six members of Congress wrote a letter to the Corps asking them to maintain pool levels.

"We think it'll happen at the end of this week, or the beginning of next week," Allen said. "We just have to get a judge to tell the Corps: this is the law."

Georgia's Senator Perdue agreed that he was just as disappointed in this outcome as his colleagues on Capitol Hill and the leaders at home.

"Rest assured, this is not done," Perdue said. "We're going to continue to work to find an acceptable solution. This can't just be a federal solution though."

Congressman Buddy Carter said the issue could affect the region as a whole, but it was important to remember the Army Corps has reasons for their decision.

"The bigger picture is what we're focused on," Carter said.