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i(uJ.1i Upst ate residents
wh(l<·" ·,'.'ells are dropping in
the ::;outh's continuing
dro!1.d are correct to blame
it l!l! "� rain, but there's
more to the falling wat er
table· than what's not falling'
�
< . .' . �.

oul t,r tlle sky. . ' . -:�:a.�

.
Local rain supplies some • . . •

of the water in the area's

streams and lakes, but wells
and the "base flow" of
streams comes from a gradu­
:3l1y w a ning supply of
gronndwater creeping
Ihrough crack s in rock far
IIl.'low our feet.
-\ statewide committee
J \ 1�1l'l'd South Carolina to
be in severe drought in mid
,JlIlle. Too little rain has fall­
en in the last four years
across the entire South to
replenish its underground
"rivers," so wells continue to
drop and most Upstate
streams are far below nor­
mal volumes for this time of
\'1'11'.
.
I he Li ttle River near
Walhalla. for example,
flowed Friday at 73 percent
of its average volume for a
Erin McCracken lndependent·MaJ.l
,llli), 5 based on 34 years of
People play in the water and enjoy the beach at.Lake Jocassee Friday afternoon. That beach, according to many people,
I !l itrrl States Geological
is a lot larger than normal because of the ongoing drought. The lake's water level is 23 feet below full level alld has
"Iease see As, Page 4A become more treacherous for boaters aod divers.
 , Ins
['10m Page lA
.".' records. The
Il :l!luuga River flowed at 52
, , '111 of its J ul y 5 averag e
,. 'I' 1I10re tlian 60 years of
l' .,··d� .
. I", U.S Army Corps of
"'l�"lecr's Hartwell Lakl? is
'11' 11)\imalcly 9 feet below its
1',,11" I lewl Duke Power's
1.:111 ,I,,('u�see is a staggering
':lieL'l below its full level.
Duke's Lakp Keowee and
the l" lI'ps' Richard 13. Russell
L:1I;e ;u'(> closer to normal lev ·

1 is. \l"t only because thpy are

uSNI Ill!' "pump storage " to
Illil h ' l ; l in the olher. working
rl '.1'1 '.uirs in thp lake system.
1("" '1'" also is used as a
,ource of COOling water for the
Uwner N uclear Station.
Al! fuur lakes are tied to J.
Slrlllli Thurmond Lalle. the
(:01 1'5' southl?rnmost reser·
\'oir on the Savannah. which
i, tI,lI'. n a pproximate l y 9.2
Ii';'!. The c orps must constant·
ly discharge a cerlain aillount
of water from Thw'llIond to
�Iillih pollution ill the river
'Iliel supply (\ownslrealll com·
I!lttni'tl:s.
"I '"I .:;; Thurmond is filled
up. I he la kt'S above won'l be
Ii lied up." said Masaaki
l\illllii, a hyd l 'Ologisl with Ule
<;(o1I1h Carolina Departmenl of
,'!alll ml Resources.
1)t\lI'cr production by the
'·'JI'P� .111d Duke has been cur·
.
''''11. spokesmen for both
Pllt i I ies said. The corps is buy ·
illl; power from other genera·
hI'S 10 IlJPPI its contractual
nl'ligatiom: ;md Duke has
I PIli II r'r! l1y(I, oelpctric prod uc·
I inn I,y Iii! percPlll to 70 per­
""111 Low leveb have cl osed
11";11 I :!" of t he corps ' 84 pub·
Ii,' I ',,;It r;unps 011 Thurmond
""rli larlll'ell lakes.
1"I\(P ,JOC:ISSef'S shorelin e
11:" IH'C'1l redefined by the
(i", IIJ!!h! and there are threl? or
f"lll slwLlow areas marked off·
limits L,y Ihe state Departmen t
III NatLu'a1 Rcoources. bul all
<iv or the lal<(,'s boal ramps
all' still op�n. Devil 's Fork
!)1;Jtp 1"11 k Assislanl Manager
""viII Evans ,aid.
II, �e hvclrologists have
\\'�nlPd that slim mer evapora·
""l 011 El'owee and Jocassee
I 'Jlllbinccl with water rt'leases
1'PCllIire(1 by the corps OIay
,';111<,·' IIH� lakes 10 faU as much
,"'. n Ivut a mOllth until signili·
I""lt r�illrall arri ves ,
spoJo, 1J'�ln Tom Williams
"·Iid.
11 . J ocasspe were to fall 30
Eleven·year·old David Reynolds of Anderson talks to his sister Rachel R eynolds, 13, at Darwin Wnght'Park as their par­
ents decide the lake is too low to launch their boat. Their mother, Cyndee Reynolds, said, "I h ave never seen the lake like
this, I don't even know if it will ever come back." The Reynolds were headed to Lal<e Keowee to see whether they could
get their boat launched there.
feet below normal. which has
not happened since it was
built, Duke would have to shU!
dowli tlle Oconee Nuclear
Station in accordance witil an
agreement with the Federal
Energy Regulatory
Commission. Mr. Williams
said .
"That's nOI going to happen
in Ibe toreseeable J'utw 'e," he
said.
Low lakes make for ugly
shorelines and disgrun lied
lakeside residents. but low
wells can affect residents'
health as well as their pocket·
books.
Mosl of the thirstiest wells
are shallow. bored jusl into the
weathered bedrock near the
surface known as saprolite.
the first groundwater source
to fall off in a drought. MI:
Kiuchi said.
Bettel: bUI mOI,(> expensive.
are wells Ihat penetrate deep·
er. sotid bedrock wltil they
interseCI fractures thai carry
watet:
Even deep wells can be a
hil·or-miss propOSition
beCause the Southeasl's pieri·
mont geology has no clearly
defined aq u ifer. Mr. Kiu chi
sa id .
I nstead. the fraC T Ured
bedrock systems conneci in
some places to networks
stretching inl o North
Carolina or Tennessee. while
other places are isolaled and
vulnerable to d rougJ ll. Mr
Kiuchi said.
Locru ra in waler can panly
re plenish saprolite. bUI the
deeper sources depend on rain
t hat Inay have fallen years ago
in recharge zones Inany miles
away. Mr Kiuchi said.
Thai has advantages. II
makes the base llow of
U p sta te streams - the water
thai comes solei y frolll
growldwater when 1\ springs
from exposed bedrock - more
slable Ihan coastal streams,
Mr. Kiuchi said.
"I i's less inlluenced by
what 's happening in Ule sky."
he said. Therefore. 111 0S1 pied-
1I10nl communities with pub·
lic water systems have water
enough to avoid use restric -
Erin McCracken Independent-Mall
lions even alter four years of drought can be reversed with
drought. although sOl))e are just two years of normal pre­
teeLering on the brink. cipitation, 1\11: I<iuchi said.
Seneca gets its water from "It's still depressing we
well·stocked Lake Keowee and have to wait for two years," he
Westminsler is fairly flush sa id.
thanks to the still ·strong Area l akes may respond
Chauga River. But Walhalla's even more rapidly because
reservoir on Coneross Creek more of their wilter comes
had to b� drainrd Ul ·the fall from surface runoff
because of a broken valve and "J{aplCily" is a relallve lenn,
Lhe lown has been sk ipped by of course Normal rainfall is a
thp lasl few good rains. said description of climate: its
Town Council Member' effects are incI'(>mental. not
TOlllmy CnJ.m pton . chairman sudden. Even most heavy ram
or the ulIJity conlllllttee. events d01l'1 affect the lakes
noticeably because they are
Th� town has asked the
part of fast·moving weather
5.700 resld�nts on Ule system
systems tliat only cover small
10 vol ull tarily lllnlt their
waleI' use. but mandatory areas at a time. A region- wiele
rpstrictiolls may 1I0t be far off, drenching might make a d u­
he said. ference. ho\� e ver. Mr Kluchi
JUSt as the region's grOlmd­ said.
water tru(es a long lime to nm "If we have one tropical sys­
dry. il will require a long peri· tem come through and drop
od of normal rainfall over a rive to 10 Inches of rain. all the
wiele area to recharge. lakes will be full almost
FOrlWlalely, there is reason to instantalleo usly," he said.
believe recovery may not take "But the water table would
qui(r as long as the ril'V-OUt. stili be low because there's no
M onl l oring well and stream way for these frnctW'es to take
data hinl that lour years of that much water that fast."