I think everybody is being selfish wanting more rain. Every time it rains my bad knee hurts really badly. I'll be praying for the rain to stop for a while. Hopefully that will counter everyone else's prayers for rain.
Thurmond Lake has risen 27 inches since its 2007 low on Christmas Day, but without a rainfall boost from tropical weather in the Augusta area later this year, there still could be problems during the summer and fall.
At its low point, the 70,000-acre lake had fallen to 316.18 feet above sea level, or almost 14 feet below full pool. As of Thursday, it had risen more than 2.3 feet, to 318.49.
"This is typically our wet season and we anticipate it will continue to come up for the next four weeks," said Army Corps of Engineers hydrologist Stan Simpson.
Once the wet period ends, however, it becomes more difficult for the lake to refill.
"There is usually lots of rain in February and March and into April, but after that it starts to dry off," he said, noting that trees and plants will consume more of the available moisture after spring.
Although recent rains caused some streams to overflow, such flooding has little impact on large reservoirs, he said.
"When you think about those streams and compare them to the lake, the lake is a huge surface," he said. "For it to rise you need a lot of rain on that surface. When you look at a stream, it doesn't take a lot of rain for the stream to look like a lot of water."
A line of thunderstorms on Tuesday dumped an average of 1.23 inches of rainfall in the Savannah River basin, which includes lakes Thurmond, Russell and Hartwell, which collectively include 156,000 acres of water.
Earlier rains had rehydrated soils in many areas, making it possible for more rain to run off into reservoirs.
"Three days prior to the big rain we had a half-inch, which primed it for a good runoff," he said. "So that was the kind of rain event we want."
During 2007, a three-inch rainfall in the region pushed the lake up four feet in four days -- from 325.75 on March 1 to 329.8 on March 5. Although this year's outlook is improving, Mr. Simpson said much more rainfall is needed to replenish the lakes.
"We had a slight excess of rain in December, with January about two-thirds of normal," he said. "February was just shy of normal so what we will need, as we get out of our rainy period, is twice the normal rainfall, unless we get a tropical event."
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
THURMOND LAKE
FULL POOL: 330 feet above sea level
THURSDAY'S POOL: 318.49 feet
LOW POINT, DEC. 25: 316.18 feet
historic average lake level for March 6: 327.39 feet
Comments
I think everybody is being selfish wanting more rain. Every time it rains my bad knee hurts really badly. I'll be praying for the rain to stop for a while. Hopefully that will counter everyone else's prayers for rain.
I have been listening to the b___ s___ from the Corp of Engineers for years. They always have the same story about our Clark Hill Lake. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of water in Hartwell Lakeand Russell Lake. I think they should share the water and let us have some downstream.
Dang Bush, if he hadn't caused global warming none of this would be happening. I'll be glad when he's gone so the lake will fill up again.
This story should make Dr. Bukk happy.
The corp could not manage a full bathtub of water. Russell Lake is full. That water use to flow into Clarks Hill, but with the reverse turbines they can pull the water that went through back into the lake. Clarks Hill has had a problem with water levels ever since Russell was created.
Right. The corps is secrectly hiding the 12 feet of water that used to be in Clarks Hill.
Right. The corps is secretly hiding the 12 feet of water that used to be in Clarks Hill.
Wow, the 27 inches blew me away for a minute. Great use of words. Much better thatn 2.25 feet. I was looking for "Noah". Hey lets start watering and filling our pools like north Georgia. The drought is over. (Per Purdue)
Here's a news flash - we are always going to need rain! See, that's how things grow. And sun! Sun is good. Great in-depth reporting!
LOL, zigzag; I needed that today. If we want the rain to continue we should all wash our cars as soon as it stops. And if you have satellite TV, plan to watch a show you really really want to see and it only comes on once and then it will rain and ruin your transmission. Organizing a parade is also a good idea.
the lake seems to stay low as much as it's full. maybe the corps should just keep it lower permanently - they could plant timber and let the brush grow up along all the new land on the shorelines and it will hide all those houses and give people out on the lake a nicer view.
If you lower the amount of water discharged from Lake Russell and you continue to discharge the normal flow from Clarks Hill, you have your lost 12 foot of water.
Never fails during the masters it will rain and normally we get a good bit. Last year was and exception. It waited till after the masters. You think its dry there come over here and dig for water. Every where is just sand. Then complain of a water shortage. You are all spoiled and need to Let God do his job and quit playing God.
True Hartwell does need to let some water down hill. Thats how we get ours you can't always rely on rain to fill the lake......
Lake Hartwell is in the same shape as Clarks Hill, it is 12-14 foot low also. Lake Russell which is between the two lakes is normally full. It has reverse turbines so it can reuse the water discharged.
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