Lake Hartwell Hovering at Full Pool for First Time in Two Years

After a mediocre March, April’s showers have raised the Savannah River Basin reservoirs back to full pool.

“As of Monday, Hartwell and Thurmond are hovering at full pool, while Russell is less than half a foot below,” Corps spokesman Jeremy Buddemeier said. “The last time the reservoirs sat at full pool was almost exactly two years ago.”

Building on February’s above average rainfall, Hartwell posted 5.8 inches of rain in April compared to its 4.6 inch average.

Thurmond and Russell collected 4.6 and 4.3 inches of rain versus their 3.6-inch averages, respectively.

“The saturated ground from February’s above average rainfall, along with relatively cooler temperatures and lower levels of transpiration, helped April’s extra rainfall translate into runoff despite March’s sub-par numbers,” Buddemeier noted.

That means visitors to Lake Hartwell can expect the lake to be at full pool at least through the July 4th holiday.

After that, Buddemeier says forecasters are not sure how the rest of the summer will go in terms of needed rainfall.

“The current 10-week projection has Hartwell and Thurmond remaining at full pool through Independence Day,” he said. “By next week, the Southeastern River Forecast Center is supposed to release another weather and climate-related projection, but what their predictions have been saying consistently since the beginning of the year is it looks like a slight La Nina set of conditions. That means a slightly warmer than average temperatures and lower than average rainfall.”

But Buddemeier pointed out the forecast is for only a slight chance of lower than average rainfall.

Buddemeier said this month, water managers will strive to keep the reservoirs as flat as possible for spawning season, which began April 14.

Flat pools are critical for largemouth bass during the six-week period because if the pools drop too quickly the fish will abandon their nests and their eggs will be vulnerable to predators from the air.

Conversely, if the pools rise too quickly the deeper water provides larger fish easier access to their nests.

The bottom line is you can expect a good summer season for fun on the lake.