Above Average Rainfall This Winter Could Mean Opening the Hartwell Dam Spillways
It’s been a rainy fall and early winter and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District is hoping to avoid another winter rain event like the one we saw in 2015 prompted the Corps to open the spillways at Hartwell and Thurmond Dams.
Jerry Buddemeier with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah district said while the Savannah River Basin plunges into winter, the average monthly rainfall has been steadily increasing in its march toward … March, the basin’s wettest month.
“Corps managers report October’s rainfall was just slightly above average, while the reservior lakes saw twice as much rainfall as normal in November, he said. “Hartwell Lake had eight inches of rainfall compared to its 4.6-inch average.Lakes Russell and Thurmand posted rainfall amounts of 7.5 and 6.9 inches respecitvely compared to a normal November average of just over three inches. And by mid-December, Hartwell had already received just under seven inches, almost three inches more than than normal.”
Russell and Thurmond posted 6.2 and 5.27 inches compared to the normal four inches of rain they typically see in December.
As of Monday, Lake Hartwell’s level stood at 659.41feet above mean sea level.
That’s just slightly under full pool at a time of year when the Corps typically sends more water downstream during its winter draw down.
Buddemeier tells WNEG News the higher-than-normal rainfall we’ve seen so far
Corps of Engineers is hoping to avoid opening Lake Hartwell Dam’s spillways despite unusually heavy rainfall in recent weeks.
brings back memories of 2015 when from October to December the sub-basins received 200+% of their averages and the Corps was forced to release water from Hartwell Dam.
“These multiple cascades are a sight to behold, but we try to avoid sending water over the spillway whenever possible,” he said. “Besides losing the potential to generate electricity, the sheer volume of the discharge can present a risk to life and property for our downstream stakeholders when water is released in this manner.”
Buddemeier said the current forecast suggests the basin will collect another inch of rain by this weekend, making the rainfall on par with November’s numbers.
He said however, Corps managers are continuing to monitor rainfall amounts and if necessary, aggressively manage the pools in accordance with the water manual.