Tag Archives: water management

Above average August rainfall keeps reservoirs steady

Rainfall in all three reservoir sub-basins exceeded normal in August. While no single event provided the basin with massive runoff, the steady and consistent small rain events kept the reservoirs at a relatively flat level. Leading the charge: Hartwell with … Continue reading

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Upper Savannah reservoirs enter Drought Level 1

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The three reservoirs on the Savannah River operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered the first drought level today when pool elevation at Thurmond Lake dipped below 326 feet above mean sea level (ft-msl). Entering … Continue reading

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

On watermelons and water levels

Summer in the Southeast means many things. Heat and humidity come to mind first, of course, but so do things like lazy Sunday afternoons, fishing trips, water skiing, firefly chasing and eating watermelon under a shade tree. In the upper … Continue reading

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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

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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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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

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Irrigation prohibition suspended until further notice

In response to a high volume of stakeholder feedback, as well as input from adjacent landowners in a recent meeting, officials from the Corps’ South Atlantic Division (SAD) have announced suspension of the new policy change prohibiting minor water withdrawals … Continue reading

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Changes affect shoreline uses at Hartwell, Thurmond

Often laws and regulations go into effect at the beginning of a new year. The Savannah District started three more this Jan. 1. All deal with shoreline management at Corps of Engineers’ reservoirs on the Savannah River. Two stirred little … Continue reading

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November rainfall continues October’s precedent

November rainfall at the projects has already exceeded the month’s averages on the heels of October’s record-setting pace. To date, Russell outpaces the others by more than doubling its average of 3.5 inches in 12 days. Russell captured 7.4 inches, … Continue reading

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And so it begins … hopefully

If you harbored even remote doubts about NOAA climatologists’ wet winter predictions, October’s rain most likely washed them away.

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