Category Archives: Water Management

SHEP’s water impoundment nearly 30% complete

Now almost 30 percent complete, the raw-water storage impoundment dike walls are currently four feet above ground level. With a circumference of two-thirds of a mile, they will be 29 feet high, encircle 17 acres and hold 97 million gallons … Continue reading

Posted in Savannah Harbor, SHEP, Videos, Water Management, Water Quality/Water Supply, Water Safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Richard B. Russell – not your average hydropower plant

(A version of this article originally appeared on this blog May 29, 2013.) The youngest of Savannah District’s three multipurpose dam and lake projects, Richard B. Russell Dam differs from Hartwell and Thurmond, not just size and appearance, but also … Continue reading

Posted in Flood Risk Management, Hydropower, Recreation, Water Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Dams demand best of operator trainees

(Above: Les Rice guides visitors through a quick tour of the J. Strom Thurmond Dam.) AUGUSTA, Ga. – J. Strom Thurmond Dam currently operates at 98 percent proficiency but its operators are expected to perform above this percentage. Operator Trainee … Continue reading

Posted in Hydropower, Videos, Water Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Commander: Persistent, below normal rainfall expected to impact lake levels

Since I took command of the Savannah District in June 2015 we’ve been fortunate to have adequate, and sometimes abundant, rainfall and inflows to maintain full reservoir levels. Beginning in January we observed below-average rainfall throughout the basin, yet were … Continue reading

Posted in Declaration/Projection, Drought in the News, Drought Response, From the Commander, Studies, Water Management, Water Quality/Water Supply | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Living on borrowed rain

Now that it’s officially summer, the heat is on in more ways than one. Namely, if the trend of sub-par precipitation doesn’t improve, the basin could enter drought level 1 before August. That same trajectory would bring us to drought … Continue reading

Posted in Declaration/Projection, Drought in the News, Drought Response, Rainfall Update, Water Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Listening to the pulse of the Savannah River

A soft breeze rustled the marsh grasses as James “Jim” Rothnie carefully placed a fresh canvas on his easel. Morning light sparkled on the waters of the ACE Basin nearby. Quietly, he crept closer to the dozen lounging birds, their … Continue reading

Posted in Drought Response, Fish and Wildlife, Flood Risk Management, Guest Author, Savannah Harbor, Studies, Water Management, Water Quality/Water Supply | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The ‘other’ outflows

Summer officially arrived this week and as the temperatures rise, consider that the routine releases from our dams which send water downstream aren’t the only factors that contribute to reservoir levels. Two invisible processes, evaporation and transpiration, account for a substantial amount of … Continue reading

Posted in Recreation, Water Management |

Dry conditions begin to emerge as inflows decrease

The last three months of 2015 brought with it a surge of precipitation that exceeded normal rainfall by more than 200 percent across the upper Savannah River Basin. At Thurmond in particular December rainfall approached 300 percent of normal, soaking … Continue reading

Posted in Declaration/Projection, Rainfall Update, Water Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |

Study: Dams will survive worst possible storm, winter guide curve likely here to stay

We recently published a report on a study that analyzed the ability of our three dams to contain the greatest rain event the basin could expect, with a section that addressed the feasibility of reducing the winter drawdown two feet. … Continue reading

Posted in Studies, Water Management |

Keeping it fresh

Water managers have added new features to the Savannah District’s Water Management page.

Posted in Water Management |