Image by Flickr user scmikeburtonImage by 20081126-lake.jpg Look ma, no water. Lake Jocassee in the Upstate.
After both South Carolina and Georgia officials had been asking for some time, on Tuesday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cut the amount of water flowing from Lake Hatwell, the head lake in a series of lakes in the Upstate.
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The decision came as the lake continues to be at record lows. But some 300 million gallons of water -- roughly a one months supply -- are expected to be saved by cutting outflow from 3,600- to 3,100-cubic feet per second.
Lake Hartwell's outflow goes largely into the Savannah River which is used by Savannah, Hilton Head, and Beaufort as a large source of their water supply. Officials believe the action will have little adverse effect on those communities, or ours, as Charleston's water comes mainly from more westward sources like the Edisto River and the Bushy Park Reservoir.
With things having been so wet around here, it's easy to forget that the Upstate is still in an "extreme" drought.
