For more than six months, despite recent rainfall, the Savannah River basin and counties on both sides of the river have struggled through drought status.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Department and the U.S. Drought Monitor currently list Richmond and Columbia counties in level 1 drought status, and counties up river have been listed in higher categories since earlier this year.
Birdwell said the current drought contingency plan has different thresholds to initiate water flow control from the dams at Lake Hartwell and Thurmond Lake.
Current lake levels are low enough that the Corps is in what they call trigger level two.
While tributaries below the dam help flow rates downstream, industry and municipalities depend on the water for production and clean drinking water.
The Corps studied several different contingencies, including a “no action” plan.
“The flow will change downstream as we reduce the water flow, which it does now anyway,” Birdwell said.
Birdwell noted two dams on the river, the hydroelectric dam at Steven’s Creek and the New Savannah River Bluff Lock and Dam, are pass through dams.
“The water flowing into those dams flows right back out.
Birdwell said the new plan to conserve water sooner than the current plan allows would be beneficial to residents and would maintain a steadier flow throughout times of drought.