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Anita E. Dost

Lake Keowee is down five feet. Lake Hartwell is down 15 feet and falling a foot a week. Lake Jocassee is down 28 feet and nearing its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensed allowable deficit of minus 30 feet.

SALEM — Lake Keowee is down five feet.

Lake Hartwell is down 15 feet and falling a foot a week.

Lake Jocassee is down 28 feet and nearing its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensed allowable deficit of minus 30 feet.

After a presentation addressing precipitation, evaporation, drainage, runoff, inflows, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts Thursday at the Friends of Lake Keowee Society (FOLKS) forum, George Galleher, manager of Duke-Energy’s Hydroelectric Operations, drew three conclusions for 60 people attending a forum at Duke’s World of Energy.

• The Upstate is in a persistent drought that shows no clear sign of ending soon.

• Lake Jocassee levels continues to decline.

• Everyone must pitch in to help ease drought conditions.

Virgil Hobbs, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Operations Project Manager for Hartwell Lake and Powerplant put lake level information raw data into a vivid and urgent context at the event, which was sponsored by FOLKS.

Lake Hartwell’s record falling levels potentially jeopardize the flow to Augusta, Ga., lakes Russell and Thurmond and the Savannah River, Hobbs said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires Duke to maintain a Keowee pond level that allows the nuclear power station to safely draw 50-degree water from 80 feet deep to cool its nuclear reactors. Keowee calls on Jocassee for water and holds back water from Hartwell, resulting in the great disparity between lake levels.

Duke Energy spokesperson Sandra Magee said neither Jocassee nor Keowee is in immediate danger in terms of Duke having to cease hydroelectric operations on Jocassee or nuclear operations on Keowee. She said a lot of water remains in Jocassee, and needed, Duke can draw more water from its Bad Creek Reservoir.

She also said there is a lot of room to spare in Keowee and noted that Duke still plans to lower the rate to seven feet below full pond in October for maintenance, pumping that water up into Jocassee. Keowee will be refilled to its existing level some time in December, she said.

“The only limitation on Keowee is where the intakes pipes are, and our intakes are very deep in the lake,” she said. “We have many, many feet of water (over those intakes).” Still, Ben Turetsky, executive director of FOLKS, shared some of the Society’s concerns regarding the drought-induced water shortage.

One area of concern is water system infrastructure that we daily take for granted as we shower, shave, cook and clean. On a national average, 20-30 percent of the water taken up by municipal systems is lost between the intake point and the billing point. That means that there are leaks in the system or there is theft (such as people reversing the meter), or there are metering problems. Old structures and piping need to be examined tested and upgraded, Turetky said.

Another issue is the relationship between water basins. Greenville, in the Saluda River Basin, obtains its water from the Table Rock and Saluda reservoirs. In 1969, Greenville obtained an interbasin transfer permit from the state, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and Duke Energy. That permit allows the city to draw up to 150 million gallons a day from Keowee if they need it. It currently draws 20-30 million gallons a day.

Keowee is in the Savannah River Basin, and every gallon drawn by Greenville is a gallon taken and not returned to downstream neighbors.

There is some controversy on if, when, and who will renew that permit, Turetsky explained. But whatever the case, FOLKS hopes the discussion will involve whether the big users in the Saluda Basin are aggressively addressing infrastructure in order to be responsible and diligent regarding the system’s loss factor.

“In a ‘normal’ year, where rain totals over the Upstate approach 60 inches, we wouldn’t all be as worried about water quantity. But circumstances are exceptional now, and exceptional measures must be taken,” Turetsky said.

There are historical precedents for 10-15 year droughts, Gallaher commented. “Our governor left it up to localities to decide conservation measures. Our locality is classified D-4 ‘Exceptional Drought.’ We need to conserve water as if our lives depend on it because it does.”

Editor Brett McLaughlin contributed to this story.