Following is a one paragraph statement that sums up the lake level problem. Feel free to copy and/or use this to explain the situation we face to anyone who may be able to help with our cause:
When people hear about problems with the drought control plan for Lake Thurmond they automatically assume higher lake levels for recreation would deny the people along the Savannah River the water they need for drinking water, environmental concerns, industry, etc. But this simply is not true. The Corps' Drought Plan is destructive to both upstream and downstream interests. Thurmond Dam simply pools the water from rain so that it can be released uniformly over the year giving the river predictable water flows. The Dam can't make water. So if you release more water than is available from rains you can destroy the ability to release a uniform amount of water to the river. The Corps' Drought Plan does just that. They released more water during the last drought than was available from rain thereby dropping lake levels almost to the bottom of the conservation pool. At that level uniform releases are no longer possible. In other words the Corps' Drought Plan could easily get us to the point where drinking water, environmental, and industrial needs, etc along the river can not be met. Save Our Lakes Now is proposing that the Corps use a flow rate of 3600cfs anytime Lake Thurmond drops 2ft. This flow would meet the needs of both upstream and downstream interests. It matches the amount of water that came in from rain during the worst drought on record which means the lakes would stay full and 3600cfs was used for over a year without any problems downstream of the dam.
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