The Friends of the Savannah River Basin (FSRB) and Congressman Gresham Barrett of South Carolina are hosting a "United States Army Corps of Engineers Management Plan and Drought Information Workshop" at the McCormick Middle School Gymnasium on Monday, November 10, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The school is located between McCormick and Plum Branch on Route 28.

The event will feature a discussion led by Col. Edward Kertis, commander of the Savannah River Basin Project, and the water management team from Savannah.

The topics include:

.. The corps' water management and drought contingency plans.

.. The group's on-going environmental assessment.

.. Predictions of lake levels.

"The 'Friends' organization is encouraging as many people as possible to attend this meeting," said Clay Antonakos, a spokesman for the FSRB. "We have got to band together and make our voice heard. We need to show the corps how the lake levels affect us -- the economy, our drinking water, and so forth.

"I know the corps' engineers have to meet certain obligations downstream, but why can't they release the bare minimum for them? We're suffering more from the drought than those downstream."

Most recently, the corps proposed to reduce flows from Thurmond Dam from 3,600 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 3,100 cfs on a trial basis.

As of Tuesday, November 4, Clark's Hill Lake was at 313.95 feet above mean sea level (msl). Full pool is 330 feet msl.

Based in Savannah Lakes Village, the FSRB is comprised of thousands of individuals from Georgia, South Carolina, and other states. There is no membership fee.

For more information about the meeting, contact Barbara or Harry Shelley at 1-864-391-4346.