Everyday Randomness

I’ve heard so many people lately talking about how they’re pissed that we’re running on mandatory water restrictions. Most of them live in huge houses on the lake and drive super nice cars. They’re pissed they can’t wash their cars and run sprinkler system to keep the grass in front of their multi-million dollar homes green. It pisses me off that these people just don’t get it.

Lake Keowee is being held at 5 feet under, but it’s about to be dropped to 7 ft under for maintenance. This will add some water back to Lake Jocassee. There’s a government contract that says Lake Jocassee’s water level can’t drop more than 30 feet below normal. Well right now it’s sitting at 27 feet.

Lake Hartwell is down 15 feet, and it’s falling at a rate of 1 foot a week. A lot of people think no big deal. We’ll eventually see rain again, and the lakes will eventually fill back up. That may be true, but the drought situation doesn’t just cause the lakes to drop. It effects people and the environment much further on down the line.

The fact is these three man made lakes support so much more than just our area and a nuclear power plant. They support river basins that flow through South Carolina and Georgia. Colder water from Jocassee is released into Keowee to maintain the correct temperature for the water pumped into the power plant. Water from Jocassee and Keowee are released into Hartwell, and that flows down throughout the state into smaller streams and rivers. If the lakes are gone, those streams and rivers lose their water source.

I read an article today on Upstate Today that shows how major cities in South Carolina are also effected by the lake levels.

Greenville, in the Saluda River Basin, obtains its water from the Table Rock and Saluda reservoirs. In 1969, Greenville obtained an interbasin transfer permit from the state, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and Duke Energy. That permit allows the city to draw up to 150 million gallons a day from Keowee if they need it. It currently draws 20-30 million gallons a day.

Keowee is in the Savannah River Basin, and every gallon drawn by Greenville is a gallon taken and not returned to downstream neighbors.

Before these people pitch a hissy fit over the fact they can’t have a perfectly green lawn in their front yard, they need to look at the facts. We’re in an extreme drought. Yes, it sucks. No, you shouldn’t get special treatment just because you think your grass is important. Look at how the situation effects everyone, and stop being so selfish. The water restrictions are there for a reason, and without them we’ve got a whole lot more to lose than just a few dead lawns.