Hartwell Dam Spillways opening again

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to open the spillways at Hartwell Dam at regular intervals for the next several weeks until the lake is back down to full pool. This time last year, Hartwell Lake was almost 12 feet below normal.  However Monday night, the heavy rainfall pushed the level on Hartwell Lake to 665 feet, which is five feet above full pool. That led the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg to declare Hartwell Lake at flood stage early Tuesday. Corps spokesman Billy Birdwell said the move to begin releasing water is a safety measure. Birdwell said for the next several weeks water will be released from the flood storage pools at Thurmond, Russell and Hartwell Dams until all flood storage pools drop to near guide curve for this time of year. For Hartwell Lake, that means 660 feet. This afternoon, the Corps will do its planned test of the Hartwell Dam spillways and will also test the spillways at lakes Thurmond and Russell on Thursday. The public is welcome to come watch the opening of the spillways today from 1pm to 3:30pm.