Lake Hartwell Above Winter Guide Curve, Nearing Full Summer Pool

Lake Hartwell is just shy of full summer pool – at a time of year when the regulated winter guide curve level is about four feet below that.

So far, the Lake Hartwell area has had over five inches of rain in January alone and there’s more to come.

As of Thursday, Lake Hartwell’s level stood at 659.63 ft above mean sea level, just shy of the summer full pool level of 660 msl.

The winter guide curve lake level is 656 msl.

However, Corps spokesman Billy Birdwell said there’s still plenty of flood storage space for more rain at Hartwell if and when we get it.

Technically, we are in flood stage anytime we’re above guide curve,” Birdwell said. “However, we still have all the flood storage we have for full summer pool, which is six feet before we reach critical capacity at Lake Hartwell. So we still have plenty of room.”

Birdwell said the Corps has no plans to open the spillways at Lake Hartwell if we do get more rain, but they will continue to do what they’re are already doing sending excess water through the turbines.

“We avoid that whenever possible. We only do that in emergency situations. As long as we have flood storage we’re going to continue releasing water through the turbines because it’s a waste of good energy that we could be producing that’s clean, renewable, and available,” Birdwell explained.

In December, the basin climbed out of Drought Level 1 thanks in large part to storms that delivered much-needed rain to the Savannah River basin leading into Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Birdwell said if the rain continues, the summer season looks good for boaters and tourists on Lake Hartwell.