Corps officials will hold public meetings on water management

The commander of the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold two public meetings in the upper Savannah River basin to discuss the water management at Lakes Hartwell and Thurmond during the current drought. The Savannah District manages the three reservoirs and the dams that form them.

The meetings will be held at the Anderson Area YMCA, 201 E. Reed Rd., Anderson, S.C. on December 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. and at the Belair Conference Center, 4083 Belair Rd., Augusta, Ga. on December 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. The information will be presented throughout the event so the public may come-and-go at their convenience.

Topics will include lake level predictions, water conservation management, hydropower production, and the new drought contingency plan for the upper Savannah River. Col. Mark S. Held, Savannah District commander, will host the meetings and will be on-hand to discuss public concerns. He will give brief presentations throughout the events.

The three lake entered Drought Contingency Level 2 on August 28. Recent rains and increased use of Russell Dam's pump-back capabilities have slowed the decline in lake levels. During Drought Contingency Level 2, managers may discharge no more than a weekly average of 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the Thurmond Dam. In recent weeks, managers have voluntarily reduced that amount to 3,800 cfs to conserve more water in the lakes.

On November 27 Lake Hartwell was at 652.5 feet above mean sea level (ft-msl), Lake Russell was at 474.4 ft-msl, and Lake Thurmond was at 322 ft-msl.

In spite of recent rains, the lake levels remain in Drought Contingency Level 2 and will remain there well into 2007. In 2006 the upper Savannah River basin has received approximately 27.5 inches of rain. The average annual rainfall for the area is 46.8 inches.