The LHA Board receives frequent questions regarding various water issues. With the current drought situation, this topic has of course taken the forefront. This article provides an overview of several water issues that may be of interest.

Water Level Management

There are many factors that influence water levels. LHA has consistently taken the position that lake levels should be maintained as close to full pool as practical at all times.

The lake is managed by the Corps to what is called a rule curve. This calls for levels to be held at full pool (660 MSL) through spring and summer, and gradually lowered to “winter pool” (officially 656MSL) in the fall and through the winter. As a result of many meetings with LHA and other organizations, the Corps agreed to deviate from the rule curve for the past three seasons. It should be noted that lowering lakes in winter months is typical water management practice for mountain and piedmont lakes. This is done to avoid flooding during heavy spring runoff and rains, and is normal practice for TVA, Duke Power and the Corps. The Corps at Hartwell was willing to try modifying their approach, and did leave the lake “full” for two years. Some damage due to erosion was noted when levels subsequently exceeded full pool, and the lake was lowered two feet to 658MSL this past winter. The Corps has indicted they intend to continue this practice in the future once the lake returns to normal levels.

Much has been published lately regarding the need to always keep the lake “full” in winter. LHA believes that such decisions should be based on sound science to fully assess the potential downsides. One of the primary purposes of the lake is flood control. We agree there are benefits to starting each year with more water in the lake to stave off potential drought conditions, and that is why we have pushed the Corps to try this. However, the benefits of this practice are often overstated. In a drought, lake levels can be pulled down very quickly, with similar results regardless of the starting point. Looking at the 2005 data, the lake was indeed at full pool as recently as February.

The 2006 drought has been extremely hard on lake residents and users. We have rarely seen lake levels impacted so quickly. The area has sustained a double-punch of no tropical rain events, and almost a 50% reduction in normal rainfall.

In previous newsletter issues, LHA has covered the changes to the Corps’ Drought Contingency Plan. LHA participated with other stakeholders to input to these revisions, which involved a two-year process. The biggest single change is that flow rates will be reduced at a higher lake level, 656MSL vs 654MSL. Unfortunately the revised plan was not signed until after the lake was at drought level 2 this year, so no real benefits were realized. The changes would have resulted in about 2FT higher lake levels had the plan been in place.

There seem to be many misconceptions on how the Corps handles lake levels in a drought. The reality is that in drought conditions, lake levels are managed more consistently than at any other time. The drought plan, once triggered, dictates maximum flows that can move down the Savannah from the Corps’ lakes. It should be noted that the plan sets maximum daily average flows out of Thurmond, with expected balancing of the Hartwell and Thurmond pools. Thus we can see higher and lower daily flows from Hartwell, but the average must be met.

The drought plan had input from, and was signed off by numerous federal and state agencies. These groups are concerned about the Savannah Basin as a whole, and seek to ensure reasonable water availability to all users throughout the basin. Minimum flows are set to protect the many municipal, agricultural, industrial, environmental and navigational needs downstream. In a drought, these are the flows that must be released by the Corps, and the Southeast Power Authority (SEPA) cannot draw the lake down to make power…they can only generate with the water that must be released per the Drought Plan.  If inflows to the lake do not exceed the required outflows, levels continue to drop.

There are a number of means to achieve consistently higher lake levels that LHA is pursuing. It should be apparent from the discussion of the Drought Contingency Plan that once the lake level hits drought triggers, there is very little that can be done. Due to the many competing interests up and down the Savannah Basin, it is highly unlikely that any substantial changes will be forthcoming in the drought plan or its approach. And once drought flow triggers are hit, flows are fixed and levels tend to stabilize. As an example, Hartwell dropped about 5Ft from the beginning of July until mid-August when the first drought trigger was hit; then dropped only 2Ft over the next four months.

Therefore, our focus must be to maximize water levels and mitigate drought conditions prior to activating the drought plan. There are two projects identified which LHA supports to accomplish this:

1. Lake Thurmond Oxygen Injection. The power plant at Lake Russell has a unique capability provided by “pump back” turbines. These four units can be used to pump water back from below the dam into the lake during evenings when power costs are low, to be used for generation again during higher priced peak periods. This allows SEPA to make additional power, and essentially “backs up” water into Hartwell. Due to oxygen depletion created by this process, the plant can currently only run two of the four turbines during summer months when they are most needed. An approx. $5 million project will provide oxygen injection into downstream Lake Thurmond to mitigate this problem. This project has not received federal funding due to budgetary constraints on the Corps. LHA along with the Hartwell Area Chamber and Municipal Coalition are lobbying our federal representatives to support full funding for this project.
2. Savannah Basin Comprehensive Study. In the late 1990’s the Corps initiated a project to complete a study of the Savannah Basin by developing a comprehensive model. The first phase of this study was completed in 2005, and the model that was developed was used for revisions to the Drought Contingency Plan. Phase Two of the study would combine the water modeling with a complete economic analysis. To understand the importance of this, it helps to look at where SEPA fits in the picture. SEPA is a federal agency that markets the power from the Corps dams. The proceeds from power sales go directly to the federal coffers, in theory to defer the cost of constructing the lakes, cover some operational and maintenance expenses, etc. It is often stated by the Corps that they have a number of “equal” priorities in managing the lakes; among them power, flood control, environmental, recreational, etc. The reality is that water, aside from drought or flood conditions, is used to make power. The only way to change the priorities under which the Corps operates is by an act of Congress. LHA believes that the Comprehensive Basin Study would demonstrate that the economic and recreational impact of the Savannah lakes far exceeds the benefits provided by power generation. We also believe that only through the data provided by such a study will we get congressional action.

A second significant benefit of conducting this study is the critical input it can provide to developing an interstate water-sharing compact between Georgia and South Carolina. Both states’ governors have formed a joint Savannah River Committee. They understand the need to develop common ground and avoid the constant litigation that is disrupting management of other basins in our region. LHA has developed a position paper supporting such an interstate compact.

As with the oxygen injection project, the Corps has been unable to get funding to complete this important study. It will take $1.5million from the Corps with matching funds from the two states. LHA is soliciting both our federal representatives, and members of the Savannah River Committee to get this project restarted.

While droughts and water levels command most folks’ attention due to their immediate impact, LHA believes there is a much greater threat to our waters. As water supply becomes more scarce in some areas due to over development, there will be increased pressure to move water to population and economic growth centers. We frequently hear comments from people in government and regulatory agencies regarding the future potential to move water from the Savannah Basin to Atlanta through an interbasin transfer. An unfortunate precedent has been set by the interbasin transfer to Greenville in SC. This debate has already started within the governors’ Savannah Basin Committee.

LHA believes we must remain ever vigilant, and do everything we can to protect the Savannah waters. We have prepared a position paper recommending very stringent controls over interbasin transfers. We joined the Georgia Water Coalition several years ago to fight legislation that would have allowed water sales and trading in Georgia. We are currently participating in the development of the Georgia Statewide Water Plan. Our focus has been to ensure very strong provisions guarding basin waters and regulating interbasin transfers.

LHA recently commented to the Georgia EPD and respective municipalities regarding the sale of water from Toccoa to Habersham County. While this is a case of a relatively small demand, it does represent an interbasin transfer with potential for growth. We want to make our position clear in such cases.

LHA tries to maintain its credibility in addressing water issues by supporting our positions with facts and sound science. We are fortunate to have some very talented and highly regarded experts within the organization. We try to stay engaged in any programs, activities or organizations that can support our goals and mission.

What can you do? Try to stay knowledgeable on water issues. Contact the LHA Board or Committee members if you have questions or comments. If you meet or write to elected or regulatory officials, try to reinforce LHA positions. We will also periodically ask members to support letter or email campaigns on certain issues. The size of our membership, and your active support can go a long way toward getting the attention and support of our representatives.

Update by Joe Brenner