Corps Officials Said Hartwell Spillways Likely Won’t Be Opened

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

Officials with the Lake Hartwell Project Office now say the spillways at Lake Hartwell will likely not have to be opened.

The Corps announced a couple of weeks ago that all three spillways at Thurmond, Russell and Hartwell Lakes would be opened.

However, Hartwell Lake Project office Chief Ranger Zach Harkness said last week that Lake Thurmond was still too high to open the spillways further up stream.

Harkness said it could change, but he said if Lake Hartwell reaches the tipping point of 665 feet above mean sea level, the Corps will likely try to bring the level down by generating more power.

Meanwhile, Corps Spokesperson Sandy Campbell said that once Thurmond is down to where it should be, then Russell and Hartwell Lakes will begin releasing more water.

She said that should happen later this month.

“If current trends continue, it looks like about the weekend of January 22nd,” Campbell said. “That’s where we should really be able to have moved most of the water out of the system. After that, then we can start concentrating on evacuating water out Hartwell. And or preferred method of release is through power generation and not open the floodgates.”

In the meantime, many people living on Lake Hartwell have had their docks swamped by the high water level.

Harkness recommended dock owners and anyone going out on the lake to fish take extra safety precautions.

“We always preach water safety whether you’re boating or swimming or going out to your dock,” he said. “Some of the issues with docks that are swamped is power. Folks need to be awfully careful with the power that’s connected to the dock. There should be a GFI outlet on the power pole by your dock. For the folks going out on the water you’re going to encounter a lot more debris and things like that. So they need to use extra caution while they’re out there.”

And of course, remember to wear your life jacket anytime you go into the water.

Harkness said so far they have not had incidents on the lake related to the high water levels.