Rainfall for the lakes “off to a good start”

Those who take the measure of rain into Lake Hartwell’s sub-basin like what they see. The sub-basin’s 5.24 inches of rain for May exceeded the average for that month. And Tracy Robillard says, “We’re off to a good start for June as well.” Robillard serves as a public affairs specialist for the U-S Army Corps of Engineers. In the first three days of June, the corps measured more than one inch of rain in Hartwell and a half inch in Thurmond Lake. But expect some of what has been added to the lake levels to disappear. Robillard says, “As we enter the hot summer months, the rate of evaporation and transpiration will increase, causing more water to escape from the reservoirs. Our water managers adjusted their projections for the next 10 weeks to reflect updated weather forecasts. We expect both the Hartwell and Thurmond pools to gradually decline about three and a half feet between now and mid-August. However, our current projections show that both pools should remain above the drought level 1 trigger….” Bottom line, there’s plenty of water to enjoy all summer long.