Lakes falling fast
Drought drains lakes
Despite recent storms, water levels are steadily dropping
By Andy Paras (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier Doug Allen, fishing guide and president of the S.C. Country Guide Association explains the effects of lower lake levels on his fishing guide business from the pier of his Lake Moultrie home.
Video
Water levels at Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie are 2 1/2 to 3 feet lower than normal and some residents fear the lakes could return to the vast fields of tree stumps by fall if more rain doesn't fall. Watch »
For more information
Boaters and other lake users are encouraged to check daily inflows and lake levels by calling 1-800-92LAKES.
For more information about the drought, visit the Office of State Climatology Web site at www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/
BONNEAU BEACH — The boaters and swimmers who waded into Lake Moultrie on Monday afternoon gave the lake a normal appearance on a hot June afternoon, but residents who live and work here say conditions are far from normal.
The swimmers wading knee high would be up to their chins in water if the lake were at its normal level; and Doug Allen, a fishing guide on the Santee Cooper lakes, said he would be able to put his boat in from his own landing if everything were fine.
The president of the S.C. Country Guides Association said he has to launch his boat at Richardson Landing down the road, and in a few weeks, even that spot might be too shallow.
"It's just a matter of time until I won't be able to put in at this landing or any other landing," he said. "It's not only affecting my living on the water, but it's also affecting my business."
Santee Cooper officials say the lake is 2 1/2 to 3 feet below normal levels, despite a series of thunderstorms that have ripped through the Lowcountry in recent months. The lakes never fully recovered from last year's drought that left fields of tree stumps in its wake, and now a new
drought gripping the state is taking its toll.
Mollie Gore, Santee Cooper's corporate communications representative, said the dry weather has significantly reduced inflows from the Congaree and Wateree rivers to about a fourth of the normal rate. Another factor is evapotranspiration, which means water is being lost through evaporation and thirsty plants. While it's a normal process, it happens at a faster pace in hot weather.
Some residents say Santee Cooper is discharging too much water.
Gore said Santee Cooper is federally obligated to make daily discharges. Its contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires a minimum discharge of water from the Jefferies Hydroelectric Station into the Tailrace Canal, where it flows into the Cooper River and Charleston Harbor. It also must make a minimum discharge from its Spillway Unit into the Santee River. The flow of freshwater prevents saltwater from intruding into the river system ecology.
Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie are at about 73 feet, down about 3 feet from normal levels and down from its 74.4 feet level this time last year.
Burnie Felkel, a Bonneau Beach resident who launched his son, Daniel, and his friend David Yonkers, both 15, into the water aboard a personal watercraft Monday, said the water is going down nearly 1 1/2 inches a day when it doesn't rain.
"It's going down as fast this year as it did last year," Felkel said. "If we don't get some rain in the upper part of the state, it's probably going to be dry by September."
Gore said there's still a ways to go until the lake reaches last year's low of 66.8 feet in Lake Moultrie and 64.5 feet in Lake Marion. She said she hopes last year's lack of rain will prove to be an anomaly.
Santee Cooper officials met with Bonneau Beach residents Monday night to answer their questions, but they say there's little they can do.
"It all depends on Mother Nature," Gore said. "When you start a little below the curve, it's awfully hard to catch up."
Even the recent thunderstorms haven't been much help. "They provide
just enough to keep up with evaporation," state climatologist Hope Mizzell said. "There's not enough to replenish the storage."
The state Department of Natural Resources Drought Response Committee on Monday upgraded five Upstate counties to extreme, the highest level. Fourteen counties were upgraded or maintained at severe status and 21 were upgraded or maintained at a moderate level.
Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties all remained at the lowest level: Incipient.
Mizzell said 13 out of the 17 streams monitored across the state already have reached severe status.
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/...ns_lakes46128/
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