SCE&G to lower Murray/release carp
LAKE MURRAY, SC
SCE&G plans to lower Lake Murray beginning in October to curb underwater plant growth and improve water quality.
The plan, crafted by SCE&G and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, is to lower Lake Murray to about 350 feet elevation, about 7.5 feet lower than it is now. Water will be released into the lower Saluda River through the Saluda Hydro powerhouse beginning in early October.
The lake should be returned to its normal level by next spring.
Because of development on Lake Murray’s shoreline and runoff from agriculture, the shallow parts of the lake are ripe for underwater vegetation and algae to grow. This growth is normal and native, says DNR aquatic nuisance specialist Chris Page, but can be bothersome to people on the lake and can negatively affect water quality in the long term.
By lowering water levels, “nuisance” plants such as southern naiad and slender pondweed, which create thick, matted clouds in the water, will dry up and stop growing temporarily.
The result: Shallower swimming areas will be easier to wade in, boat propellers will have fewer tangles to churn through and burrowing fish can regain access to shoreline sands. Emptying the lake a little bit will also allow rains to wash sediment and “unwanted nutrients” to deeper parts of the lake.
“We’re getting a double bang for our buck,” Page said.
The plan was for the lake to be drawn down every three or four years, beginning in 2009, but that was delayed, Page said, in part by the permitting process and then by the flood of 2015. The last time Lake Murray was drawn down for water quality and vegetation issues was in 2002, Page said. Before that, there was a drawdown in 1996, according to SCE&G.
This year’s drawdown will begin in October, and the lake will gradually drop to 350 elevation by mid-December, Page estimates. This drop will be incremental and should not affect houses downstream.
Lake levels will stay down through the rest of December and into January to expose the weeds to sun, rain and colder weather. This timeline also leaves the lake at normal levels during the busy summer season.
SCE&G officials overseeing the process say people can still use the lake once it is lowered, but they should take greater precaution in shallow areas, since those areas will not have hazard markers.
DNR will also release in the fall 1,500 additional triploid grass carp fish into the lake to eat hydrilla, an aggressive, invasive species of aquatic weed that has afflicted South Carolina bodies of water for decades. Lake management officials try to keep at least 8,500 carp in the lake at all times.
Although Page expects residents and visitors to bemoan the drawdown, he said it’s necessary for the continued health of the lake at a small cost in the short term.
“There are drawbacks, there are positives, and we try to mitigate the negatives, but whatever we do, Mother Nature is still in charge,” he said.
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/...217240035.html
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by BOG
Bookmarks