The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will collect used, natural Christmas trees(no artificial trees) to enhance fish habitat at the lakes.

The trees will be tied in bundles, weighted with concrete anchors, and submerged in various locations marked with buoys. The submerged trees provide cover for fish and enhance nursery habitat for juvenile fish, according to Jamie Sykes, Corps’ fisheries biologist.

“They also provide a substrate for algae and aquatic insects, which creates a feeding area for smaller fish,” Sykes said. “The small fish attract larger species, thus creating an enticing “hot spot” for anglers.”

Christmas trees can be dropped off at the following locations:

Hartwell lake drop-off locations (Dec. 26-Feb. 15)

·          Big Oaks Recreation Area (Hart County, Ga.), located on U.S. Hwy. 29, one mile past the Hartwell Dam.

·          Twin Lakes boat ramp (Pickens County, S.C.) From Interstate 85 in South Carolina, take exit 14, Hwy 187 going north toward Pendleton, S.C. Immediately after passing the Clemson Research Center, turn left on Fant’s Grove Road. Follow signs to park.

·          Coneross boat ramp (Coneross Park, S.C.) From Interstate 85 in South Carolina, take exit 11 on Hwy 24 toward Townville. 1.5 miles past Townville, turn right onto Coneross Creek Road. Follow signs to park entrance.

·          Poplar Springs boat ramp (Franklin County, Ga.) From Lavonia, Ga., where Georgia Hwy 328 crosses Interstate 85, go north on Hwy 328 for 3.5 miles, then follow signs to Poplar Springs.

(Trees can be picked up by fishermen any time for personal use until Feb. 15 at any of the above locations. Trees should be anchored in eight-to-twelve feet of water. Trees are prohibited from being placed in the main lake channel or around private docks.)

Dec. 26 through Jan. 15:

·          Mount Lebanon Elementary School (Pendleton, S.C.) The school is located at 2850 Lebanon Rd. The drop-off area will be roped off near the entrance to the school.

Thurmond Lake Drop-Off Locations (Dec. 20-Jan. 8)

·          Riverside Middle School, 1095 Furys Ferry Road in Evans, Ga.

For more information about the tree recycling program, contact the Hartwell Lake Office at 1-888-893-0678 or the Thurmond Lake Office at 1-800-533-3478

The need for water puts great demands on the Savannah River Basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District coordinates water management efforts with federal and state natural resource agencies to balance the needs of the Savannah River’s upstream and downstream users.

We operate and maintain the Hartwell, Richard B. Russell and J. Strom Thurmond hydroelectric dams and reservoirs as one balanced system. All our water management actions are based on seven Congressionally-authorized purposes: water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife, flood risk management, recreation, hydropower, and downstream navigation. Depending on drought conditions, the order of these priorities changes. For instance, in severe drought, water quality and water supply take priority.

Often times, conflicting needs for water occur throughout the basin. It’s our job to look at the entire basin–from the northern reaches of Hartwell Lake to the Atlantic Ocean–and manage it as one system using the best science we have available.

We balance the Hartwell and Thurmond pools in a foot-per-foot manner for the top 15 feet of the conservation storage (which is the amount of water stored during normal periods for use during drought). The Russell pool serves as a conduit to move water from Hartwell to Thurmond. Once the pools have declined below this point, we balance them based on the percent of depth remaining in their respective conservation pools.

During periods of drought, we reduce outflows from the dams according to our drought management plan(last updated in September 2012). The plan establishes four “levels” of drought and a protocol for reducing outflows at each level. This plan was coordinated with Georgia and South Carolina natural resource agencies and federal resource agencies.

Check daily updates on lake levels and other hydrologic data on our Water Management web page at http://water.sas.usace.army.mil/home/indexDU.htm

Click Here to read the December 2013 BuyHartwellLake.com Newsletter with the latest news, information and listing on Lake Hartwell.