Shoreline Changes Stirring Controversy
A decades long policy at Lake Thurmond comes to an end and not everyone’s happy about it. Real Estate and landowners adjacent to Corps reservoir property are no longer able to withdraw non-potable water from the reservoirs to irrigate lawns and gardens. This change brings shoreline management regulations into compliance with federal law. The laws never authorized irrigation as a purpose of the dams and reservoirs.
Corps officials took at least five years to come to this decision. They did take into account that many property owners would be affected. At Lake Thurmond, there are 271 of them.
Those who currently have a license will be able to continue to irrigate until they expire. No new licenses will be given. Washing docks and boats where water falls back into the reservoir will be allowed. As licenses expire, property owners must cut and cap water lines leading from their pumps onto the shore. Underground piping may be abandoned in place.
The other two new changes are a reduction in the diameter of vegetation allowed to be cut with an under-brushing permit. That’s been reduced from 6 inches or smaller in diameter (at the base) to three inches or smaller. This will help protect habitat for the long-eared bat, recently listed on the endangered species list.
The other change is that the consolidated license and permit form is now two separate forms.
For more information on these regulation changes or any topic dealing with shoreline management, contact one of the Savannah District lake project offices; Hartwell: 888-893-0678, Thurmond: 800-533-3478. -or follow this link.
