There is still plenty of water!
There have been lots of comments from
customers lately about how low the lake level is. "They are draining
the lake!" "When are they going to have to close the lake because there
are no usable boat ramps?" Stuff like that. So I want to take a
minute to address lake levels.
The current lake level is 967 feet above sea level. The last time it was this low was 2010- three years ago.
It was lowest in 1992, when it was 720 ft
above sea level. It was highest in 1998, when it reached 1085 ft above
sea level (almost flood capacity). In 2011, it was almost as full,
reaching 1081 ft above sea level.
We will lose the last ramp at Tuttletown if the lake level drops another 107
feet. We will lose the last ramp at Glory Hole if the lake level drops another 207
feet. It will continue to drop until around November, maybe 1-3 feet
per week. in 10-12 weeks, it may drop another 36-40 feet at worst case.
Then water contracts slow and it starts to rain and snow. So we
aren't going to lose access to our beautiful lake without another
winter or two of severe drought.
While it looks great when the lake is full,
it is a reservoir, built for water usage, so lake levels will fluctuate.
But rest assured- just because we got used to seeing it full after
heavy rains in 2010-2011, and now we are seeing the "bathtub ring" that
high water levels caused, there is still plenty of water there for you
to enjoy! It is still hundreds of feet deep.
Hope that clears things up!
Melanie