Saturday, May 14, 2011

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY

Save Our Lakes Now has a different outlook on managing Lake Thurmond than the corps and many other groups. So that our arguments can be better understood I am comparing our thinking to theirs. You can then choose which approach you agree with the most. You each have friends that are not on our mailing list that will agree with our views. Please let them know we are here for them.

Many may question why we recently complained about the level of Lake Thurmond when it is only 8" below the target level while repairs are in progress to the dam. We recently did a press release and emails addressing this as unwise. The reason is you can not get the water back once it has been sent to the ocean. And although 8" doesn't sound like much it takes a long time to make up for that even when you try. Hence we were simply asking the Corps "why have such high release rates now when we are preparing for worse times in the summer". Their current release rate of 4800cfs is wasteful and amounts to throwing away valuable water.

The Corps is initiating a two or so year study to better define the impact of release rates etc on the basin. Many point to this and say just be patient. Our concern is what if we get into another drought like the one in 2008 while we are waiting for the Corps to complete the study. We feel the Corps should go ahead and incorporate the things we have found work better than the current drought plan. For example why not reduce releases to 3600 any time the lake drops unexpectedly rather than continue to throw water away at release rates way in excess of what comes in from rain in a drought. In 2008 we got copies of all complaints from stakeholders downstream while the release rates were reduced to 3600cfs to try and hold the lake. No one downstream had a problem with these rates. Corps data show that the rate at which rain was adding water to Lake Thurmond during the 2008 drought was 3600cfs annual average.

I hear frequently that the corps is not the only group that determines water levels. In reality this is not true. The Corps manages the lake based on laws and inputs from stakeholders. But as managers they have the latitude to recommend changes when current practices are problematic. Additionally the Corps has admitted repeatedly that they have the latitude to change release rates to 3600cfs when they see it is wise to do so.

We hear constantly that drought control is a complex issue. We do not agree. It is as simple as balancing your expenses with your income. Just because someone wants more water does not mean it is available. It is unreasonable to expect us to release more water than we have for things such as a tightening of contamination limits. That would be like saying we are going to control automobile emissions by putting more air in the sky. No. You reduce contamination levels by restricting emissions not by releasing more water than you have. Eventually you will destroy the whole system and you will then have no control of water quality or anything else related to river flows. Duke Power's relicensing should in no way force us to destroy our lakes. Quite the contrary. Their relicensing should demand they meet the limitations of the system. The Augusta shoals are again limited by what nature provides from rain. In all these cases and others frequently mentioned our argument is simply that we can not manufacture water no matter how good the cause may be. We can only manage the water we are given.

Our proposal is really quite simple. Release the same amount of water that we receive by rain unless release rates drop below 3600cfs which was demonstrated to be acceptable in the drought of 2008. No one downstream experienced problems with this release rate which continued for over 12 consecutive months in 2008. And since this matches the rate of rainfall averaged over a year during the drought of record it keeps us from losing the lakes. If you look at all the responsibilities of the Corps they are all satisfied using this approach. If you release more than what comes in from rain you first destroy recreation and economics around the lakes and eventually you destroy all the other concerns by no longer being able to release enough water to the river to meet downstream needs.

Our concern is that continued mismanagement can easily destroy what we have. The combination of a poor economy and the drought of 2008 have left us in a weakened condition. Another mismanaged drought like the one of 2008 could be devastating. We may not have the time needed for lengthy studies and patience is not necessarily appropriate. We have been entrusted with a fantastic asset in Thurmond North. It is too valuable to risk losing it.

As a final note, this approach sends the same amount of water downstream that mother nature provides taking man out of the equation. The only time man gets involved is when 3600cfs no longer maintains a full pool or when flooding downstream is imminent. In other words we only change from what the environment would enjoy with no dams when a severe drought or destructive flooding would result. The river returns to what it has been for thousands of years and Short Nosed Sturgeon and other endangered species would no longer be threatened by man's interference.