Drought drains lakesDespite recent storms, water levels are steadily dropping By Andy Paras (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Melissa Haneline 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 Lakes Marion and Moultrie are up to 3 feet lower than normal amidst fears they could return to the vast fields of tree stumps by fall if more rain doesn't come. Watch » For more informationBoaters 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. Video
The Santee Cooper drought makes landing the big one difficult - Tommy Braswell visits Lakes Marion and Moultrie in February 2008. Watch » |
Article tools |
|
Notice about comments: Charleston.net is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Charleston.net does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not charleston.net. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here. |
Comments
This article has 21 comment(s)
Posted by eatmorecollards on July 1, 2008 at 4:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As we worry about depleting the ozone layer with the use of fossil fuels,we continue to build a giant microwave oven around us. We are sending up more and more communications satellites for television,radio,gps,telephone and others,all beaming down microwaves that strike the earths surface causing heat. Glad I never go anyplace without my tin foil hat.
Posted by joldham on July 1, 2008 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It seems awful strange that Santee Cooper are so happy to blame Mother Nature on the lower of the lakes. I bet if a thorough investigation is made we would find out that Santee Cooper has more to do with the lowering lake levels than Mother Nature.....
Posted by MC29461 on July 1, 2008 at 7:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The environmental groups have forced Santee-Cooper to dump more and more water from their spillway into the Santee River.
In the past this was never a factor, but with the influx of the Northern Treehugger species into the Lowcountry ecosystem, everything that makes our outdoors special is a risk for destruction.
Posted by BulldogTLC on July 1, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Santee Cooper is REQUIRED to discharge a certain amount of water into both the Cooper and Santee Rivers. This is a REQUIREMENT imposed by the Army Corp of Engineers. This discharge insures that the rivers below the lakes remain healthy. Without these required discharges, the Santee River would be full of silt and the Tailrace would salwater. This could destroy an entire ecosystem. When the inflows are down and the required outflows remain the same, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the lake levels will drop.
Posted by RW on July 1, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It will not matter what those involved have to say about this..the ecofascists will blame the Global Warming Demon!!{a scam!}
Posted by Early on July 1, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You also have the NEW water plant that just opened pulling out 8 million gallons a day for the Orangeburg/ St George area which is proposed to go up to 16 million next year and up and up. Who's idea was that? What really gets my goat is Santee had an opportunity to cleanup the stumps in the waterways to make a safer area but they weren't going to spend a dime for improvements. Take, take take.
The lakes also get their water from upstate which is in a severe drought right now though we have had a good amount of rain in the Lowcountry.
Posted by UberBlitzkrieg on July 1, 2008 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think eatmorecollards was making a joke... at least I HOPE he was making a joke.
Posted by drp7773 on July 1, 2008 at 8:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And remember this, the Corp of Engineer can not change the rules about draining the water it has to come from Washington and I can tell you from experience what is happening in Ga with the same case, Lake lanier is now 14 feet down and the Corp will not stop sending water down stream to help some muscles in Fla. and they will not tell Washington that this lake that drinking waters comes from here for several counties is in serious shape.
Posted by common_sense on July 1, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mmmm....delicious mussels. If we eat them all, the problems with Lake Lanier will go away, sorta. It's a start.
I'm just sayin...
Posted by jeff61 on July 1, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by joldham on July 1, 2008 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It seems awful strange that Santee Cooper are so happy to blame Mother Nature on the lower of the lakes. I bet if a thorough investigation is made we would find out that Santee Cooper has more to do with the lowering lake levels than Mother Nature.....
Why would Santee Cooper have any interest in having lower lake levels? Are you saying they would perfer the Lakes not be there at all? I think the question that needs to be asked is How much of this water are the fish drinking???
Posted by wjhamilton3 on July 1, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We've had drought in the Southeastern US for most of the last twenty years now. Percipitation was well under the average in June. You can tell the landscape has become drier over the past twenty-five years by taking a walk, even in the Lowcountry. Different plant species are prominent. Amphibians are scarcer.
If saltwater moves up the rivers far enough, it would trigger a huge dieoff of plants and animals.
It's perfectly all right to assume the planet isn't warming up and nothing is happening. It just isn't true.
You might consider that most of our water in the Lowcountry comes from deep wells and is drawn from sources which are thousands of years old and ultimately replenished from rain falling well inland. Pressure and volume from those wells has been falling for years. We're pumping out a lot more than is going in. The wells in Downtown Charleston no longer flow on their own. We're pulling a lot of water out of the ground and it's not being replaced.
There are over six billion people on the planet now and that is a lot more people than we can take care of unless we're careful with our resources.
Posted by BulldogTLC on July 1, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The new water plant currently supplies water ONLY to the town of Santee. Might need to check your facts you make statements. It is also pumping no where near 8 MGD. It has pumped approximately 0.5 MGD since it opened in May. Whose idea was it? Well, it was a joint venture between Santee Cooper and the Corp of Engineers and was spear headed by James Clyburn. Making sure that the area has drinking water seems like a very good idea to me. Santee Cooper gains nothing if the lake levels are down. Use some common sense folks.
Posted by eatmorecollards on July 1, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I know, as if we didn't have enough to worry about with globle warming someone comes along and injects a new element into the equation. No I dont think its enough to dry up the lakes tho.
Posted by jeff61 on July 1, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are over six billion people on the planet now and that is a lot more people than we can take care of unless we're careful with our resources.
This is why nature has a earthquake or Tsunami ocassionly. It's natures way of fighting back.
Posted by Early on July 1, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Uh BullshytTLC, might need to check your facts bro.
Don't ya just love the Internet police who think they know all!
The $35-million system includes the 8-million gallons per day (mgd) treatment plant and a 1-million
gallon elevated storage tank in Orangeburg County off Interstate 95. As part of Phase I, a one-mile
pipeline will provide initial service to Santee on the commercial operation date of May 1.
Santee Cooper has operated the 36-mgd Santee Cooper Regional Water System from its Moncks Corner
treatment plant on Lake Moultrie since October 1994. That system is the source of water for the
Summerville Commissioners of Public Works, city of Goose Creek, Moncks Corner Public Works
Commission, and Berkeley County Water and Sanitation Authority.
The Lake Marion treatment plant meets all state and federal drinking water standards. It is the first water
Posted by PalmettoHawk on July 1, 2008 at 10:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?"
Oddball - Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Posted by ColdBeer on July 1, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Global Warming schmobal warming. The planet is going to go through cycles with or without us.
Santee-Cooper is mandated to passing water through the dams in order to prevent the entire Santee and Cooper rivers from turning in to saltwater habitats. The amount of flow from the dams is calculated to maintain the downstream portions of the river as close to possible to the way they existed before the reservoirs were built.
As for clearing stumps and such... those items of "structure" are why the lakes have such great fishing. I think it's better to leave them in place and let the boaters adapt, just as we always have. If someone ruins their boat on a chimney, they shouldn’t have a boat anyway.
The low water level in the lakes is a perfect opportunity to plant fresh crappie attractants :)
Posted by jeff61 on July 1, 2008 at 12:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The low water level in the lakes is a perfect opportunity to plant fresh crappie attractants :)
The low water level in the lakes also makes for the perfect opportunity to locate the Moncks Corner Ness Monster that has been known throughout the years to inhabit the lakes.
Posted by BulldogTLC on July 1, 2008 at 4:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Early, you need to learn the differnce between CAPACITY an DEMAND. I'm just saying BRO... Facts.....
Posted by tomtomdumdum on July 1, 2008 at 8:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey burtdogg. You didnt post on this story! I know what you was going to say anyway, The police marine patrol is driving their boats to the lake wasting taxpayers gas stealing the water.
Posted by FiscalConservative on July 2, 2008 at 5:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If we had glogal warming wouldn't that lead to more rain. Hotter temp= more evaporation= more rain. I don't know, i majored in econ and acct.