Hartwell Lake Remains at Drought Level 1 Despite Tuesday’s Rain

All of the rain we’ve had over the past 24 hours has not put a dent in the lake levels.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hartwell Lake remains about five feet below full pool.  Corps spokesman Billy Birdwell says that means the Drought Trigger Level 1 status issued last week will not be lifted.

“The reason it hasn’t change is because once we enter that drought level, Hartwell and Thurmond lakes stay in that level until they are at least two feet above that trigger point,” Birdwell said. “The reason that is, is so that we don’t immediately go right back into it.”

Rainfall totals in our area Tuesday were upwards of 2 inches in some spots, but Birdwell said that’s still not enough to lift the drought status in what is traditionally the driest time of the year.

“We have less rain at this time of the year than we do at other times of the year,” he said. “So this is not unusual for this time of year. Even so, we are just slightly below the trigger level. We are managing the water carefully. We are holding it as high as we can. But at Trigger Level 1 we have limits on how much we can discharge from Thurmond. So for those who wish for us to reduce outflows, Trigger Level 1 is actually a good thing for that.”

As of this morning, Hartwell Lake’s level stands at 655.2 ft msl, Russell Lake is at 474.74 msl just below full pool and Thurmond is at 325.02 or about five feet below full pool.