Looking at the release rates from Lake Thurmond over the past year (july 2010 to august 2011) the Corps has been releasing an average of 5038cfs. In the process Lake Thurmond has dropped 4 ft and we are now in danger of another major impact on recreation and economics around the lakes. Most people do not realize how sensitive we are to release rates. The difference between a release rate of 5,000cfs and 3600 cfs over a years time is 14'. In other words had the Corps followed our pleas they would have only had to use a release rate of 3600 cfs intermittently over the past year to keep the lakes full.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
CORPS CLAIMS "JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS"
The whole Savannah River Basin is in jeopardy and we have answers on how to correct this situation but the Corps is hiding behind the excuse that they do not make policy. As we all know "just following orders" is not an acceptable excuse for acts that bring about destruction. We need congressional help or public exposure to get the corps to listen to reason.
We hve presented plans numerous times that prevent the destruction of recreation and economics when the lakes drop too low while at the same time protecting downstream interests by providing river flows that have been demonstrated to be acceptable. Rather than explore this approach the Corps spent huge amounts of time and money to develop a way to literally drain the lakes which would totally devastate the areas upstream of the dams.
Several things show the current approach in use by the Corps is not logical:
1. rather than balance water releases with what is supplied by rain the Coprps follows a release plan that bankrupts the system during droughts and runs the risk of destroying the whole Savannah River System
2. they lierally throw fresh water to the ocean during severe droughts when fresh water is precious.
3. they call hydropower a renewable power source but it is renewable only if you limit the water used to that which is supplied by rain.
4. they ignore demonstrated destruction of recreation and economics upstream of the dam in favor of possible imagined problems downstream.
Right now today the Corps is allowing the lakes to drop drastically and the levels will soon be destructive to recreation and economics. We have pleaded with them to drop release rates to
3600cfs which is acceptable downstream but thy are holding them at 4200cfs. In a years time 4200 cfs puts Thurmond 6' lowere that it would be at 3600cfs. The area went trhough a massive drought in 2008 which destroyed the economics of the region. This drought could be even more destructive because of its proximity to the one of 2008.
We hve presented plans numerous times that prevent the destruction of recreation and economics when the lakes drop too low while at the same time protecting downstream interests by providing river flows that have been demonstrated to be acceptable. Rather than explore this approach the Corps spent huge amounts of time and money to develop a way to literally drain the lakes which would totally devastate the areas upstream of the dams.
Several things show the current approach in use by the Corps is not logical:
1. rather than balance water releases with what is supplied by rain the Coprps follows a release plan that bankrupts the system during droughts and runs the risk of destroying the whole Savannah River System
2. they lierally throw fresh water to the ocean during severe droughts when fresh water is precious.
3. they call hydropower a renewable power source but it is renewable only if you limit the water used to that which is supplied by rain.
4. they ignore demonstrated destruction of recreation and economics upstream of the dam in favor of possible imagined problems downstream.
Right now today the Corps is allowing the lakes to drop drastically and the levels will soon be destructive to recreation and economics. We have pleaded with them to drop release rates to
3600cfs which is acceptable downstream but thy are holding them at 4200cfs. In a years time 4200 cfs puts Thurmond 6' lowere that it would be at 3600cfs. The area went trhough a massive drought in 2008 which destroyed the economics of the region. This drought could be even more destructive because of its proximity to the one of 2008.
Monday, July 18, 2011
CORPS SHOWS INSANE PLAN TO LITERALLY DESTROY OUR WATER SUPPLY
The Corps of Engineers has come out with a plan for managing the lakes of the Savannah River that wouuld drain all three lakes rather than practice simple conservation measures in a severe drought. As with money if you continue to spend more than you make you will eventually go bankrupt. Managing the water in the lakes is a similar proposition. If you send more water downstream to the ocean than comes in from rain you will eventually run the system dry. Water is one of if not the most valuable resources we have. Without it our industries shut down, cities have to be abandoned because of lack of adequate drinking waer, crops will fail, etc. etc. It is therefore insane to put a plan in motion that would drain our lakes during a time of extreme water shortage leaving us with no water.
The Corps and Save Our Lakes Now agree on the essential variables concerning the flow rates needed in the Savannah River to meet downstream needs. We disagree on how to manage lake levels to maintain these flows. Save Our Lakes Now sees the primary controling factor to be having enough water in the lakes to mainatin the needed river flows. The Corps on the other hand makes no attempt to maintain lake levels util it is too late to prevent destroying recreation and economics of the lake and river flows are in jeopardy. Following the guidelines proposed by Save Our Lakes Now a drought like the one in 2008 would be of little consequence. Thurmond Lake would cycle from full to 8' down and back to full. Following the guidelines by the Corps Thurmond Lake drops 16' in a drought like the one in 2008 which destroys the lake from the stand point of recreation and economics and puts control of fiver flows in jeopardy. Minimum adequate river flows are maintained by both plans provided the drought is not more severe than the one of 2008.
Looking further to the possibility of a drought more severe than 2008 the Corps has acknowledged that their drought plan which stops releasing water from the dams when the lakes hit the bottom of their conservation pool could lead to no longer being able to provide minimum adequate river flows. Recognizing this the Corps has now come up with an insane proposal whereby they would literally drain the lakes. Carried to its extreme this would destroy any possibility of having adequate water for downstream needs.
Save Our Lakes Now proposes simple conservation measures to make sure we never run out of water in the lakes. If we encounter a drought more severe than the one in 2008 we recommend the Corps adjust release rates at the end of each year to match whatever the annual average rainfall is for that year. The dams give the benefit of averaging the drought flows over a full year which avoids the disastrous effects of not being able to control river flows. The Corps proposal risks losing the benefit gained from the dams which would mean total loss of control of both the lakes and the river.
The Corps and Save Our Lakes Now agree on the essential variables concerning the flow rates needed in the Savannah River to meet downstream needs. We disagree on how to manage lake levels to maintain these flows. Save Our Lakes Now sees the primary controling factor to be having enough water in the lakes to mainatin the needed river flows. The Corps on the other hand makes no attempt to maintain lake levels util it is too late to prevent destroying recreation and economics of the lake and river flows are in jeopardy. Following the guidelines proposed by Save Our Lakes Now a drought like the one in 2008 would be of little consequence. Thurmond Lake would cycle from full to 8' down and back to full. Following the guidelines by the Corps Thurmond Lake drops 16' in a drought like the one in 2008 which destroys the lake from the stand point of recreation and economics and puts control of fiver flows in jeopardy. Minimum adequate river flows are maintained by both plans provided the drought is not more severe than the one of 2008.
Looking further to the possibility of a drought more severe than 2008 the Corps has acknowledged that their drought plan which stops releasing water from the dams when the lakes hit the bottom of their conservation pool could lead to no longer being able to provide minimum adequate river flows. Recognizing this the Corps has now come up with an insane proposal whereby they would literally drain the lakes. Carried to its extreme this would destroy any possibility of having adequate water for downstream needs.
Save Our Lakes Now proposes simple conservation measures to make sure we never run out of water in the lakes. If we encounter a drought more severe than the one in 2008 we recommend the Corps adjust release rates at the end of each year to match whatever the annual average rainfall is for that year. The dams give the benefit of averaging the drought flows over a full year which avoids the disastrous effects of not being able to control river flows. The Corps proposal risks losing the benefit gained from the dams which would mean total loss of control of both the lakes and the river.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
COMMENTS NEEDED ON NEW CORPS EA CONCERNING RELEASE RATES DURING A DROUGHT
The long promised EA to test 3100cfs releases from Lake Thurmond is up for public comment. You can view the EA at http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/planning.html . We applaud the Corps for getting this test set up but we disagree with the premiss that you need to wait until the lake level has dropped drastically before decreasing release rates to 3600cfs (3100cfs in winter). Release rates should match input from rain until they drop below this and then held at these rates until rainfall permits return to higher rates. We do not believe the lake levels should be permitted to drop uneccesarily as they have in the past.
From an evironmentalist standpoint you want to eliminate man's influence on mother nature as much as possible. Most died in the wool environmentalists wish we didn't even have dams. They want naturally flowing rivers where flow rates are dictated by nature rather than man. Holding the lakes full would mean the river gets exactly the same amount of water as prior to building the dams with the exception of times of severe drought or flooding.
From man's concerns both upstream and downstream of the dam you do not ever want to lose the lake. Upstream you want it to remain full as long as possible for economic and recreation reasons and downstream you never want lake levels to drop so low that you cannot maintain the river flows needed for industry, water supply, and water quality. Both can be satisfied if we simply hold the lakes full until release rates lower than 3600 cfs (or 3100cfs in the winter) are required to do so. And holding release rates at 3600cfs (or 3100cfs in the winter) after the lakes can no longer be held full matches the annual rainfall during the drought of record which should prevent losing the lakes even if the drought continues longer than in the past.
From an evironmentalist standpoint you want to eliminate man's influence on mother nature as much as possible. Most died in the wool environmentalists wish we didn't even have dams. They want naturally flowing rivers where flow rates are dictated by nature rather than man. Holding the lakes full would mean the river gets exactly the same amount of water as prior to building the dams with the exception of times of severe drought or flooding.
From man's concerns both upstream and downstream of the dam you do not ever want to lose the lake. Upstream you want it to remain full as long as possible for economic and recreation reasons and downstream you never want lake levels to drop so low that you cannot maintain the river flows needed for industry, water supply, and water quality. Both can be satisfied if we simply hold the lakes full until release rates lower than 3600 cfs (or 3100cfs in the winter) are required to do so. And holding release rates at 3600cfs (or 3100cfs in the winter) after the lakes can no longer be held full matches the annual rainfall during the drought of record which should prevent losing the lakes even if the drought continues longer than in the past.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
SEE LAKE THURMOND LEVEL BLOG FOR LATEST UPDATE
The posting on www.lakethurmondlevel.blogspot.com today gives an excellent summary of what we've learned from the recent droughts and what needs to happen from here. If you have a politician, friend, new lake resident, etc. wanting to be brought up to date on the lake level situation send them to this blog.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
CORPS ANSWER TO OUR EMAILS ANALYSED
The Col. answered some of our email senders. A full copy of his answer and our analysis of it are presented on www.lakethurmondlevel.blogspot.com. It is very illuminating and shows we've still got a lot of work to do.
Also, beginning this evening the lake level alert page will show the current levels of all lakes in this region. In a glance you can see how Thurmond stacks up with Murray, Greenwood, Oconee, etc.
Also, beginning this evening the lake level alert page will show the current levels of all lakes in this region. In a glance you can see how Thurmond stacks up with Murray, Greenwood, Oconee, etc.
Friday, November 27, 2009
CORPS IS MISMANAGING THE SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN
In spite of pleas from Save Our Lakes Now and many stakeholders around Lake Thurmond the Corps has dumped 6' of level out of Lake Thurmond in less than 2 weeks time. The releases averaged 25,600cfs and are causing flooding downstream. The only purpose we can glean from the Corps is to get to the old rule curve which calls for lake levels of 4' below full pool during the winter months. Why they have been in such a hurry to drop the lake level and why they have been willing to actually cause damage from flooding downstream is a mystery. For details of what we have requested from the Corps, what their responses have been and a chronology of events go to www.lakethurmondlevel.blogspot.com.
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