What a difference a year of normal rainfall and good water management can make.... 24.17 feet to be exact! On December 9, 2008, Hartwell Lake was at its lowest level ever, 637.53 ft. msl. Twelve months later, on December 8, 2009, it is at 661.70 ft. msl. The last time the lake measured over full pool (660 ft. msl) was in the spring of 2005. It has been a long and severe drought. Let us hope that with more normal rainfall in the years ahead, a drought this severe will never happen again.
Hope is good, but hope without action based on lessons learned will not cause us to be better prepared for the next drought. The front page of the November 30, 2009 Greenville News had ‘before and after’ pictures of the lake that we should all cut out and keep as a reminder of the drought's impact. Let’s face the fact that Americans will always respond to crisis and will usually emerge stronger and wiser from the lessons learned. Unfortunately, we also have a tendency to move on to other more timely issues and fail to act on the lessons learned while they are still fresh in our minds. We must not allow this to happen. We must be proactive and utilize the knowledge and momentum that we gained from this most recent drought. It is inevitable that we will experience more droughts, some of which may be even more severe.
Your Lake Hartwell Association Board of Directors and committees have been and will continue to be earnestly involved in all the activities throughout the Savannah River Basin that have an impact on the Lake. This includes current issues such as: Atlanta's need for water, the 12-Mile River/PCB Mitigation Project, passage of a South Carolina statewide Water Planning Bill, actions of the new Georgia Regional Water Counsel, funding and execution of the Savannah River Basin Comprehensive Study and the Hartwell Lake Region Economic Impact Study. And be assured that we will continue to advocate for the updating of the Savannah River Basin drought plan and will discourage its being "put back on the shelf.” We will not forget the lessons we have recently learned.
Once again, I must emphasize the importance of volunteering and “giving something back.” As a member of The Lake Hartwell Association (LHA), you obviously have an appreciation for this beautiful natural resource that is one of the best known and most visited lakes in the southeast. Over the past 20 years, the LHA has become the largest and most recognized advocate “for the sake of the lake.” Volunteer members have made that possible and have reaped the benefits... not a paycheck but the joy and satisfaction of knowing they have made a difference. If you want to make a positive difference in this new year, I encourage you to consider becoming a LHA committee volunteer. See the last page of this newsletter for details. You are also encouraged to suggest and submit articles and photos of interest to LHA members for inclusion in this newsletter. Finally, on behalf of your LHA Board of Directors, I wish you all the happiest and most prosperous new year ever.