Tag Archives: lake levels

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

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

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

Corps responds to shoreline management concerns

As we expected, the original post last week generated significant attention here on the blog and through email directed to our office. Five issues seemed to stand out which I will address.

Posted in Recreation, Water Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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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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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Corps tests gates at Hartwell, Thurmond dams

The Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted limited engineering and operations tests on spillway gates at Hartwell and J. Strom Thurmond dams, Aug. 25 and 26, respectively. Watch Thurmond’s gate test here. Beth Williams, project engineer for the … Continue reading

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Reservoirs return to their routines as summer arrives

The erratic spring cycle of high highs and low lows appears to have leveled off in June, as each of the sub-basins arrived much closer to its 67-year average for the first month of summer.

Posted in Rainfall Update | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

April is the new March

I’m normally pretty humble, but it’s hard to believe I wasn’t at least partially responsible for April’s stellar rainfall numbers. Each of the sub-basins more than exceeded its average for the month, with Thurmond and Russell besting it by about … Continue reading

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On groundhogs and water levels: What will reservoirs look like on Memorial Day?

February has arrived and Groundhog Day has come-and-gone. So this makes me a little late in giving my annual prediction on how the three Corps of Engineers’ Savannah River reservoirs will begin the 2015 tourist season. Now whether my prognostication … Continue reading

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