RESPONSE TO COL HALL'S VIDEO ON BTB

Col Hall has a very good stage presence.  In his recent video on balancing the basin he appears very level headed, calm, and intelligent in the reasoning he offers about how the Corps manages the Savannah River Basin.  However we feel that the logic presented is flawed. Some of the challenges we have with his logic are:

1.       You don’t have to wait to reduce flows.  Common sense based on past history says unless you reduce flows immediately you run a high risk of destroying recreation (huge infrastructure—not someone having trouble with a fishing hole). 

2.       The reduction needed is not some hypothetical value pulled out of thin air by environmentalists.  Instead you have to match mother nature’s inputs or here again you run a high risk of destroying recreation.

3.       Downstream interests will not suffer any more from reducing flows immediately on losing 2ft of lake level.  The flows that balance what nature is providing have been shown time and time again to suffice for downstream needs.  Besides, the number of hours river flows have to be reduced is actually shorter if you go immediately to minimum flows.

4.       Downstream has as much to lose as upstream if you destroy the lakes.  In other words releasing more than nature is providing runs a real risk of destroying the lakes and the ability to control river flows.

Its unfortunate that we need to share our comments in this manner.  It is not that we have no respect for Col. Hall and his offce.  We would much prefer to discuss these thoughts at the meetings where release rates are decided.  But Recreation interests like Save Our Lakes Now are not invited to these meetings leaving us little other choice if we are to make our views known.