Lake Hartwell has reached the flood stage

As of Friday, Lake Hartwell was at 662.3 ft above mean sea level or over two feet above full pool, and over five feet above the winter guide curve level of 657 ft msl. Inflows from rivers and streams from recent heavy rain has caused the lake to rise even higher by Saturday when the lake had reached 662.5 ft msl.
Still, the Corps is doing what it can to keep from opening the spillways, according to Billy Birdwell, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. “Yes, Hartwell Reservoir is in flood stage,” Birdwell said Friday. “We are well above the guide curve and even above summer full pool.”  Still, the Corps is doing what it can to keep from opening the spillways, according to Birdwell.
Yes, Hartwell Reservoir is in flood stage,” Birdwell said Friday. “We are well above the guide curve and even above summer full pool.”
The Corps’ Savannah Water Control Page and Lake Level Projection Pages online have not been working since late last week. Last month, Birdwell said the Corps had no plans to open the spillways at Lake Hartwell, but on Friday, he hinted that could change. “We don’t release water based on forecasts, but we do release water based on what exists at any given time. So, anytime we are up in flood stage we are considering those actions,” Birdwell said. Meantime, the Savannah River downstream of Hartwell Lake and Lake Thurmond reached channel capacity Friday because of the combination of rainfall and increases in inflow from tributaries. Thurmond is seeing higher and faster flows, with water overflowing the riverbank. In anticipation of these increased natural flows, Corps officials reduced the water releases from the J. Strom Thurmond Dam (JST) near Augusta, Georgia. By reducing the releases from Thurmond Dam, Corps officials avoid contributing to local flooding risks.