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Bass fishing eventy Bassmaster Classic hosted by Lake Hartwell Winter 2007 - Page 4 of 24 -
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News on the Lake
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With predictions of lower-than-normal
rain fall for 2008, lake levels will
continue to drop in the future.
In the spring 2007 issue of
Hartwell Lake News, published as
we were moving into this drought, I
reported that the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (COE) and the Southeastern
Power Administration (SEPA)
had taken bold measures to protect
water levels. Had these agencies
not modified winter pool levels and
power generation, Hartwell Lake
in my opinion would be 5 or 6 feet
lower than it is currently. We are very
appreciative of these proactive efforts
by the COE and SEPA and hope
that once the lake fills back up, and
it will, additional measures will be
taken to minimize the effects of future
drought in our region. When the
lake returns to normal levels, I will
have several proactive suggestions to
make, but that’s not the current issue.
As I mentioned above, today
the COE will discharge 2.3 billion
gallons or 3,600 cfs of water over
Hartwell Dam. This is being done
even while lake inflows cannot keep
up with water lost to evaporation. |
If you do the math — 2.3 billion
gallons out plus basically nothing in
— then it’s not difficult to understand
the decreasing lake level. The good
news: the figure 2.3 billion gallons
per day is a concession made by the
COE and SEPA to protect the water
level in Hartwell Lake. The current
drought plan actually calls for 2.5
billion gallons per day, 4,000 cfs at
trigger level 2. As of this writing
we have not reached trigger level 3,
which is 2.4 billion gallons per day or
3,800 cfs; however, the COE in early
November, while we were in trigger
level 2, reset outflows to the previous
drought plan which called for 3,600
cfs or 2.3 billion gallons per day
at trigger level 3. Without rain, we
will be at trigger level 3 in January
2008, and if this drought persists we
will reach trigger level 4 about eight
months later which calls for outflows
to be equal to inflows.
The COE and SEPA are taking
steps to address the drought problem.
However, we are still releasing
2.3 billion gallons of water per day
downstream during the most serious
drought of record for our region. |
Now I try really hard to make some
sense of this, but I am unable to.
When I look at the shores of Hartwell
Lake and Thurmond Lake, I see 14
feet of red shoreline. When I drive
a few miles down the road and look
at the Savannah River, into which
our 2.3 billion gallons of water per
day are released, I see no sign of a
drought. What I do see is a healthy
flowing river that appears to be as
full as it can get. It baffles me how
obvious the effects of the drought are
on lakes Hartwell and Thurmond, and
I might add the pond on my farm and
other ponds in the area both upstream
and downstream, but if I look into the
Savannah River below Augusta, there
is virtually no sign of any affect this
drought has had downstream.
I guess what confuses me is
that we are told that the objective of
the COE is to manage the water in
drought situations so that all stake-holders suffer equally. It is very diffi-cult for me to find someone suffering
downstream. However, if any of you
know of someone, I would appreciate
you letting me know. We are constantly
reminded that a flow of water |
must go downstream for a variety of
reasons. However, one thing I and
many others are sure of, is that the
necessary flow downstream is not 2.3
billion gallons per day. There is abso- lutely no scientific information that
can substantiate that quantity of flow,
not even the myth of salt water intru-sion. What I see downstream would
be a good habitat even for whales.
We should all be encouraging
the COE to experiment with releasing
water quantities below 3,600 cfs,
searching for that minimum flow
that would create an equal suffering
among stakeholders both upstream
and downstream. The COE in my
opinion is willing to experiment
below 3,600 cfs, but for the moment
they are obliged to operate at
this number until all stakeholders
are heard from. If we as upstream
stakeholders are not willing to voice
our concerns through our U.S. con-gressional representatives and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, then
shame on us for allowing this absurd
release of water to continue.
You can contact Mike Gray at:
jmgray@carol.net |
Greenville & Hartwell Lake to Host 2008 Bassmaster Classic
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Greenville, S.C., will host the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 22-24, in its downtown region.
Classic competitors will fish on Hartwell Lake. ESPN2 will devote 13 hours of programming to the Classic through the three-day event, including morning shows on the weekend and same-day coverage of the entire tournament. Additionally, www.espnoutdoors.com will provide live, streaming video of the daily weigh-ins along with analysis and image galleries.
“We are excited to bring the most |
prestigious event in bass fishing to South Carolina for a second time,” said Tom Ricks, general manager of BASS.
The Bassmaster Classic’s field of 50 anglers will compete for a total prize purse of nearly $1.2 million, including a top prize of $500,000. Anglers have the opportunity to practice Feb. 12-14, 2008, but the tournament waters will be off-limits to them at all other times beginning Dec. 15. The final practice is scheduled for Feb. 20. While all anglers will fish on Days 1 and 2, only the top 25 will fish on the final day. |
Weigh-ins of the event will be held at the Bi-Lo Center. Daily launches will be held at Portman Marina.
The following anglers will qualify for the Bassmaster Classic: The 2007 Bassmaster Classic Champion, the top 36 in Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings; the top three anglers in the standings from the Bassmaster Central and Southern Opens; The top six anglers in their respective divisions from the BASS Federation Nation National Championship; and the winner of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend |
Series Championship Operated by the American Bass Anglers.
“We are pleased that BASS and ESPN have chosen Greenville to host their ‘super bowl of bass fishing’,” said Chris Stone, president of the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566- 2208 or visit www.bassmaster.com. Visit www.espnmediazone.com for ESPN’s latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more. |
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