Friday, September 17, 2010

Anderson Independant Mail Article Alarming

The Anderson Independant Mail Newspaper in Anderson came out with an article on the 13th that basically said droughts have small affect on economies. No one in their right mind could look at the thousands of homes lining Hartwell and Thurmond and think the price small. If the author were to talk to the dock builders that went out of business and marinas that lost BIG and the fishing enthusiasts that had to watch tournaments turned away and the weekenders/vacationers who no longer had use of the lake he would find a lot of people do not agree with any such conclusion. I guess what the people studying the problem are really saying is it did not affect their job or their economy. Sorry we couldn't arrange for them to fully participate in the losses.

I have heard that Duke Power is about to complete a similar study on Lake Thurmond. If so I would question the validity of their study without seeing it because I find they have not even talked with Marina owners. I hope the people responsible for this study realize that their actions will have a direct affect on jobs, tourism, and local economies around the Lakes. As with the findings that are rumored for the Lake Hartwell study I personally have to question anyone who claims that droughts have only a small effect economically. Just looking at real estate, anyone who understands lake shore real estate would agree droughts like the one of 2008 decrease lot values by at least $100,000. There are over 4,000 such lots around Thurmond which by itself represents a loss of almost half a billion dollars. Looking past that and saying the loses are small is down right irresponsible and not appreciated by Lake Stakeholders who personally are suffering such losses.

Monday, September 6, 2010

MIXED SIGNALS ON CORPS PLANS FOR LAKE THURMOND

We have entered into a serious drought situation and Lake Thurmond level is dropping like a rock. The Corps is sending mixed signals on how they plan to manage Lake Thurmond release rates. At first it appeared that they were modifying the old drought plan by going to 3800 cfs releases from Lake Thurmond. Now it looks like the Corps has reverted back to the old drought plan because they have increased releases from Lake Thurmond to 4200 cfs.

There are problems with the old drought plan both upstream and downstream of Thurmond Dam. Upstream it will cause serious economic losses in just a few months time. For example during the last drought the marinas located near McCormick, SC and Lincolnton, GA were suffering monetary losses in excess of 30% and real estate values around the Savannah River Basin Lakes were virtually destroyed. Downstream it could destroy the ability to control river flows in a few years time. At the end of the last drought we were within 2' of losing control over river flows.

All stakeholders around the lakes are on the verge of significant economic losses. You may want to let the Corps know your concerns now before lake levels get totally out of hand the way they have in the past several droughts.