Lake Hartwell Association reported the following in a letter ti its membersLHA Members:

Hartwell Lake has been well above normal for most of 2010. It reached a peak elevation of 662.8 ft on Feb 8, and has been above the full elevation of 660 ft for 157 days in the first 6 months of 2010. It has recently started to recede because of the hot dry weather that has prevailed during the past few weeks. The South Carolina Climatology Office declared a first stage or incipient drought status for all counties in SC on July 9. The small amount of rainfall and high temperatures have resulted in reduced rates of inflow, as well as increased rates of evaporation.

Another factor that has resulted in increased outflow from Hartwell Lake is the gate repairs that are currently being made at Thurmond Dam and Russell Dam. Because of these repairs, the two lakes (Hartwell and Thurmond) cannot be kept in balance as is normally the case. Consequently, it is necessary to make additional releases from Hartwell Lake to meet the needs of downstream river flow requirements. It is anticipated that the gate repairs will be ongoing for at least another 18 to 24 months.

The upcoming months of August, September, and October are normally the driest months of the year. Therefore, without some unusually heavy rainfall events, we can anticipate Hartwell Lake to continue to recede for the next several months. The projections of average daily outflow and lake elevation are shown in the following table. This table, of course, is simply a projection and is subject to change if rainfall in the next few months is above normal. Note that when the projected lake elevation goes below 656 (the level 1 elevation) in mid-August, the projected average outflow is reduced to less that 3,000 cfs. The projected lake elevations are made by the Corps of Engineers on the basis of projected inflow, and projected outflow necessary to satisfy downstream flow requirements.

LHA will continue to monitor, on a daily basis, lake levels, outflow rates, and changes to lake level projections. We will keep you advised when significant new projections are made, and when major changes occur.   

* Based on July 14 Corps projections report.

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Lake Hartwell Association, P.O. Box 2122, Anderson, SC 29622
Phone: 864-224-5253  Email: mail@lakehartwellassociation.org
LHA Website http://www.lakehartwellassociation.org/