Guest columnist: Coalition dedicated to healthy Hartwell

The Lake Hartwell 660 Coalition is a new Upstate organization dedicated to a healthy, stable Lake Hartwell. Members of the steering committee have already organized and raised funds for the Strom

Thurmond Institute to study how our economy fluctuates with the lake levels.

The 660 Coalition (wwwLakeHartwell660.

com) is interested in promoting the health of the Savannah River Basin during a drought in cooperation with downstream stakeholders. Why is sending more water downstream the only solution ever discussed? It is amazing how we dump huge amounts of water during a drought into the Atlantic Ocean while at the same time require our citizens to conserve water. Do they really think that if everyone in the Upstate turned off the spigot while brushing their teeth that the high tide in the Savannah Harbor would be controlled?

The 660 Coalition is not interested in maintaining high lake levels at the expense of all other users but requests that all users suffer equally during a drought. The Upstate currently has no voice in the management of flow or the levels in Lake Hartwell. Members of the Coalition are communicating with the Corps of Engineers (COE) and have gained an understanding of some of their problems. An example was the heavy rains last month that raised Lake Hartwell four to five feet. Since the lakes were out of balance and Lake Thurmond was also getting heavy rain, the Corps closed the turbines at the Hartwell Dam, resulting in a rise of 11 feet.

The Lake Management Plan requires slow, incremental release of water based on a study from the 1960s. During a drought it does not decrease to the minimum flow (3600 cubic feet per second) until Lake Hartwell is 14 feet down, but downstream always has a continuous full pool flow of water. Coalition 660 proposes that a new method of release must be developed that gives a concise real-time result. If there were monitors for lake inflow then quick decisions could be made about the outflow during a drought. We can understand monitoring lake levels during flood conditions but levels during a drought are not accurate measures for lake outflow.

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C. and U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., met June 12 with the 660 Coalition and a decision was made to study required minimum downstream flow during a drought. Further meetings with all of the stakeholders in the Savannah River Basin as well as Georgia Tech and the Strom Thurmond Institute are planned. This study will only concern minimum downstream flows during a drought since no one knows how much water they really need. Coalition 660 will be responsible for obtaining the needed funds.

Lake levels and downstream flow is a multi-level complicated problem and must involve all of the Savannah River Basin, including lakes Russell and Thurmond. The Lake Hartwell 660 Coalition has more than 400 new members and many of them have experience with power production, hydrology, conservation and statistics. We will work with other organizations around the lakes and they can join us to combine our research and talents. We all need to work together for the benefit of our communities.

Enjoy the lake this summer but remember that no changes in the lake-management plan have been made. If another drought comes we will be right back where we were.

I don’t mean to be a pessimist but we must continue to study and work for the stability of our lakes and rivers. Remember: What the Lord giveth the Corps can take away.

Juan A. Brown is a retired physician and serves on the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce board. He is past chair of the chamber’s Water Resource committee and the Anderson County Economic Development Board.