Lake Thurmond Gates Open

The lake levels are a big factor when it comes to choosing the right real estate on the right lake.  Right now, at Lake Thurmond/Clark’s Hill Lake, thanks to all this rain, there’s plenty of water to go around.  That’s great, but what does it mean for the lake area?

Lake Thurmond opened the spillway gates this morning.  According to the lake release, they will likely remain open for five to seven days.  Until, the Corp says, “water from the recent storm can be safely evacuated from the reservoirs making room for future storms.”  The dams were designed for this, and are well within their parameters.

In the last 60 days, Lake Thurmond has received 216% of the normal rainfall.  This extra rain means a natural inflow of 894 billion gallons of water.  As a result, Lake Thurmond has been above full pool 48% of the time. (8.4′ above the guide curve.)  The National Weather Service is predicting that the elevation of our lake will reach 336.13 ft-mls before all is said an done.  That’s almost the record, which is 336.5′, which was reached in 1964.

The Lake Release also sites some changes to Shoreline Management rules.  (Complete Release http://ow.ly/WnTCC ) The major changes affect shoreline irrigation and under brushing.  They are reducing the maximum size of trees and vegetation that can be removed to less than 3″ in diameter (measured from the base).

The rapid changes in lake elevations have generated a more than normal amount of debris, so if you’re out on the lake, keep an eye out.

 

(Source: Dec 30 Lake Release)