Lake Hartwell Expected to be Just Below Full Pool On Memorial Day

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

It could be a drier start to the summer season this year on Lake Hartwell.

The Corps of Engineers is predicting somewhat lower water levels on the lake by Memorial Day weekend.

As of Wednesday morning, Hartwell Lake was at 658.68 feet above mean sea level or about a foot and a half below full pool.

Corps spokesman Billy Birdwell says that level will likely not increase before Memorial Day.

“We do have water. We’re just above 658 feet above mean sea level and that’s a good place to be for this time of year,” Birdwell said. “We’d rather be a little higher, but we’re doing OK. We a’re still predicting that we will be at less than full pool by Memorial Day. Our water managers are predicting somewhere between 657 ft msl and 658 ft msl.”

The Savannah River Basin entered mild drought conditions Sept. 22 when Thurmond levels dropped four feet below full summer pool.

That prompted all three reservoir lakes to enter into Drought Trigger Level 1 status.

By early March the Hartwell Reservoir had risen more than 2 feet above the Drought Level 1 trigger and the drought status was lifted from Thurmond Dam.

However, Birdwell said this has been a somewhat drier winter with precipitation levels not as high as expected.

“The rainfall this winter has been somewhat below average,” he said. “February was close to average. March was below significantly. January was not a good month either. The spring rains do come, but they’re hard to predict. We will see what happens in April when the spring comes. Right now, we’re doing OK.”

Still, Birdwell said Memorial Day weekend on Lake Hartwell promises to be a good one with plenty of opportunities for swimming, boating and camping, despite the anticipated lower water level.